


CMIE & SNBM - Fate Split by Ten Years

by DONTSALTME69



Category: RWBY
Genre: (as far as OCs go), (with the past being a flashback that occurs throughout the season), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Canon-Typical Violence, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Formatting inspired by The Arrow, Friendship, Gen, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, LGBTQ Character, Major Character Injury, Mild Gore, Muteness, Nerd Solidarity, Soulsborne-inspired weapons, Tags Are Hard, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 66,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22310950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DONTSALTME69/pseuds/DONTSALTME69
Summary: Carmin Rivers-Melody, Marigold Melody, Iris Wisteria, Viri Elm. Members of Team CMIE (Carmine), who started training to be Huntresses ten years ago. Carmin's hunting for the person who killed her parents, Marigold's just trying to make sure nobody dies, Iris is trying to find her mom, and Viri's just here for a good time (and maybe to kill her mom along the way).Sylvia Asche, Nepheli Elm, Beryl Elm, and Mauva Summers. The girls making up Team SNBM (Sunbeam), currently going to Beacon alongside Teams RWBY and JNPR. Sylvia's mad at her parents, Nepheli wants to help the Faunus however she can, Beryl just wants to have a life in her control, and Mauva wants to leave her old life behind.Even with ten years separating their adventures, strife is eternal.Volume 3 is in-progress, and will be on hiatus for the time being while I work on the rest of the chapters.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Male OC/Female OC, Original Female Character(s)/Jaune Arc (one-sided), Original Female Character(s)/Ruby Rose (one-sided), Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee/Jaune Arc (one-sided), female OC/female OC
Comments: 11
Kudos: 10





	1. Volume 1: CMIE - Carmin Rivers-Melody

This is a story, about a young woman, one with silver eyes. who wanted to become a Huntress. She'll learn the truth about the world, on her hunt for the one who killed her parents, and tried to do the same to her best frien-

Yes, this is not about Ruby Rose. This is about someone truly beautiful, someone who's far beyond her. I suppose you disagree, but you aren't the one talking now, are you?

Nothing will stop destiny.

So build your armies. Find your guardians. Create your weapons of war.

I'll see through it all. Crim, you truly are a magnificent pawn. All of you are. 

* * *

A girl sat in an interrogation room, leaning back in her chair and resting her boots on the table. She was wearing a black biker jacket over a white tanktop (with a silhouette of Remnant's moon on it) and ripped jeans. She had scarlet hair, cut down to chin length and messy. But the most distinctive part of her was her silver eyes.

A man walked in, with jet black hair and a crimson coat. "Carmin Rivers-Melody." He stated to the girl. "I've never seen a person with silver eyes before."

"They're not exactly a common trait." The girl, Carmin, pointed out. "And that's something I hear every other day. Listen, it was self-defense. Every single time I get dragged in here, it was self-defense."

"They were all hospitalized."

"Not claiming I _didn't_ go overboard." Carmin said.

"Truthfully, the most interesting part for me was how you fought them." He said, pulling out his Scroll and playing the security camera footage of the event. Carmin was wielding an axe that was also a guitar and a shotgun. She strummed on her guitar, unleashed a sonic blast to blow her assailants away. "It was your weapon."

"Sistrum is a darling, isn't it?" Carmin said. "I built the thing a couple years back, and I'll never-"

"What's your Semblance?"

"Sound manipulation. Shockwaves, concussive blasts, sharp blasts, and..." She took a deep breath. " **BEING REALLY LOUD**!"

The man shook his head. Why did he have to deal with such an annoying kid? "Listen, you have a choice to make. I'm friends with Lionheart."

"You mean the headmaster of Haven Academy?" Carmin's eyes lit up as she spoke. "I was actually planning on heading there next year."

"What if I told you... I could get you in there today?" The man suggested. "I'm certain I could pull some strings."

"Well, I'd have to answer no." Carmin said. "I'm still only sixteen, and I'd rather not make a fool of myself there on my first day. Besides, I promised Marigold and Saffron we'd go there together next year. Can I go now? We've established that I didn't do anything wrong, right?"

"You're free to go." he said. "I'm Crim, by the way."

Carmin shrugged. She swore she's heard that name before.

* * *

Outside, two girls were waiting for Carmin (who had her guitar hanging from her back by its strap). 

One had yellowish orange hair tied into a messy ponytail and green eyes. She was wearing a white dress with yellow accents that went down to the knee. Her name was Marigold Melody, Carmin's adoptive sister. 

The other had crimson hair and eyes to match, and wore an Achieve Men t-shirt and a black skirt. Her name was Saffron Rust, Carmin's best friend.

"So, what did you do this time?" Marigold asked. "Did you get into another fight? You do realize that's probably not going to look good on your application to Haven if you keep getting into fights, right?" 

"They came at me first." Carmin said. 

"See? Like I thought, Marigold." Saffron said. "I knew my best friend wouldn't be instigating anything."

"Why'd they even start attacking you in the first place?" Marigold questioned.

"I called them stupid after they called me stupid." Carmin said. 

"Perfectly justified." both Carmin and Saffron said at the same time. They both giggled.

Marigold facepalmed. "Kids."

"I'm older than you by two months." Carmin pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm at least a year more mature than you." Marigold sighed. "Just, please don't get yourself into anymore trouble, alright?"

"No promises." Carmin smiled.

* * *

Later that evening, Carmin got a call on her scroll.

It was from Saffron.

"Saffron, what's-" Carmin tried to ask.

"Just come quick! Some guy's creeping around my house, and I think he did something to my parents-" The sound of screaming cut Saffron off.

Carmin grabbed Sistrum and rushed out to help her friend.

* * *

She arrived at Saffron's house in short order, and froze in horror at what she saw.

Saffron was pinned to the wall by knives in her hands, bleeding from hundreds of small cuts across her body. Painted on the wall on blood were coordinates, and a short message. It read, "Carmin Rivers. It's time for a real hunt to begin. I hope you'll join me."

She collapsed onto her knees, her body refusing to move. She felt like she had been dragged back in time, to the night her parents were murdered.

It hadn't even been a special day, she had come home from school one night six years ago, and she found her parents dead in the living room... just like it was today. The Melodys took her in not long after, and the deaths became nothing more than a distant (if painful) memory.

Until today. It had all come back to haunt her again. She was going to find the killer. No matter what.

Marigold rushed in, holding a cane. Which she promptly dropped when she saw the scene before her. She grabbed her Scroll, dialing the number for emergency services. 

"Th-there's been a..." Marigold saw that Saffron was still breathing. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Attempted murder. One of my friends is really hurt. Please, send an ambulance to the Rust household."

* * *

Saffron was rushed to the hospital, and managed to survive her injuries. She's expected to make a full recovery in a month or so. The culprit wasn't found, and the police had stated they had no intention of heading off on a wild goose chase for them at this stage (apparently somebody by the name of Granyon said he had it handled). And just like that, a week passed without anyone really realizing it.

On a cool Sunday evening, Carmin grabbed some supplies and Sistrum (stuffing the former in a backpack), and headed out.

Out in an alley, Carmin came face to face with a cane-wielding figure.

"You're not stopping me, Marigold." She stated, brandishing Sistrum in guitar mode. "I'm going to find the killer."

"I figured you were going to say that." Marigold said, twirling her cane around. It resembled Ozpin's (intentionally so), and had a level on one side of the handle and a small button on the other. "I know I can't stop you. Or at least, you'll keep trying no matter what I do. So, I'm coming along to help you." 

"I know you don't- wait, what?" Carmin was evidently caught off-guard by Marigold's words, staring at her adoptive sister like she was a completely foreign entity. "Who are you and what have you done with Marigold?"

"I know, I'm not usually one to let you do stupid things. But, I'm pretty mad at that asshole too. And, you're going to go out after him no matter whether I'm here or not. So, it makes more sense to support you to make sure you come back home in one piece." Marigold explained. "I do not condone this adventure, but I will be here for you. However, I am prioritizing your life over everything else. If I think this has become too dangerous, we will go right back home. _Understood_?"

Carmin chuckled. "Got it. If it becomes too fun, we'll go home and let the Huntsmen deal with it."

"Good. So, where are we going?" Marigold asked. "I certainly don't have any idea where to go."

"I checked where the coordinates led." Carmin said. "Some town off to the east, in the desert."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing when you get there?"

Carmin shrugged. "Find the asshole and hack him apart. Not that complex."

Marigold facepalmed.


	2. Volume 1: SNBM - Convergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after Team CMIE's adventures, a new school year starts for budding Huntsmen all across the world. Down a professor, Ozpin gets approached by a group of women who know way too much.  
> And there's the new students, all trying to adjust to their coming school life.

It was very rare for Ozpin to be annoyed. Today, here in his office at Beacon Academy?

He was miffed. Professor Peach was almost nine months pregnant, and had just informed him she was taking leave to take care of her coming child (a baby boy). Of course, he had no qualms with it (what sort of monster would he be if he was mad at that?), but it still left him down a teacher. And Weapons Modification and Maintenance was a fairly important class, especially for new Hunters.

"Uh, Headmaster Ozpin?" a woman (if he remembered correctly, her name was Azura Aqua) said. "May we come in?"

Must be the people who had requested to meet him. This meeting... worried him. They clearly knew things that ordinary people shouldn't, concerning the Grimm's master, and their accomplishments are fairly above-average. "Come in."

Carmin Asche sat down in front of him, her weapon currently slung over her shoulder. "So, you're working to destroy the master of Grimm? Some... Salem person?"

" _How do you know that name_?" Ozpin questioned. For the first time in ages, he was shocked. He's been pleasantly surprised on multiple occasions, unpleasantly surprised on many more occasions, but never shocked. Especially not since this life began.

"Short version, we knew a person who could see the future." Iris Elm explained. She dropped her human disguise, showing her fox ears. "She told us to contact and meet you at this date."

"How much do you know?"

"There's some super ancient chick who's... controlling the Grimm? Is a Grimm? She was annoyingly vague." Marigold said. "Anyway, she's got her claws sunk into Professor Lionheart."

"I... I was not aware of that." Ozpin admitted. He's had suspicions, but nothing that encouraged him to take action. "So, you're aware of Salem but little else?" 

"Other than that Beacon will fall from the inside." Viri shrugged.

"Honey, you really shouldn't just randomly say those things." Iris pointed out. "I'm of the opinion that Midnight was telling the truth, but left things out for shits and giggles."

"I apologize for everything my friends say." Nera said. "I try to rein them in like the rest of my team, but they really don't work that way."

"You have no need to apologize. True, this is unorthodox, but I am pleased to have more allies in my war." Ozpin said. "So, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Well, stick around here for starters." Carmin stated. "I hear you're short on engineering types for teaching? Azura's the best teacher I've ever had at Haven."

"I wouldn't call myself the best..." Azura said.

"And the rest of us could work as tutors so we're not susp' as all hell snooping around here." 

"I'll have to fill Glynda in on it, but that will work. Anything else you have to tell me?" Ozpin asked. 

"Not much." Marigold shrugged.

* * *

A girl sat in an airship heading to Beacon, bored. She had silver hair went down to her shoulders, and similarly silver eyes. Her outfit was comprised of a white vest jacket (with a silver shoulderpad on her left side), a black top underneath, and a dark short skirt that stopped halfway down her thigh. A sheathed broadsword rested on her back. Her name was Sylvia Sparks, and she was bored out of her mind.

A boy ran past her, puking into a trashcan.

"You okay there, Vomit Boy?" She asked. 

'Vomit Boy' groaned. "Please don't call me that..." He retched.

"Then what should I call you?"

"J-Jaune-" he puked again. "Jaune Arc!"

Sylvia stared at him for a moment. She felt like she recognized the name, but couldn't place why.

"How about we talk once we get off the ship?" Sylvia suggested. Jaune gave a thumbs up in response, before puking into the trashcan again.

* * *

Sylvia and Jaune stepped off the airship, taking in the sights of Beacon Academy.

Although, Sylvia was a little more focused on something else. She was squeeing over all the fancy weapons the other students had brought. Her own weapon, Nameless, was amazing, sure, but seeing new ones was a treat. And it gave her ideas for modifications to make to it (even if most of them would probably never actually be added).

And then she noticed a white-haired girl. She had to scrutinize the distant figure a little to make sure, but that was definitely a Schnee. Weiss Schnee to be exact.

And now she was yelling at some girl. Of course she has exact personality she expected to see. "Jaune, I'm going to go check that out. We can talk in a minute."

She walked over, listening in. Apparently it was some rant about Dust?

"Hey, what's going on here?" Sylvia decided to ask, interjecting.

Weiss turned, noticing the newcomer. "This _dolt_ nearly caused a Dust explosion!" She said, waving a vial of Dust around. Some Dust got in the other girl's, and she sneezed.

When the smoke cleared from the ensuing blast, Sylvia exactly one thing to say. "You mean like that?" Weiss scowled at her. "Listen, I'm not going to point fingers here. I think you're both probably at fault for whatever was going on between you two, but that really doesn't matter. You both came here for the same basic reason, right? And it's entirely likely you'll end up being partners."

Weiss shuddered in horror of that idea. " _Fine_. I'll leave you be for now. I'm-"

"Weiss Schnee." A different girl, with black hair with a cute matching bow on top, said. She was holding an empty vial of Dust (probably got sent flying in the blast). "Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

Weiss smiled. "Finally, some recognition!"

"The same company known for its controversial labor practices and mistreatment of Faunus workers." The girl added. Weiss left, annoyed.

Before Sylvia and the smaller girl could say anything to the black-haired one, she was also gone.

"Well, that was weird." Sylvia said, offering a hand to the girl. "I'm Sylvia."

"I'm Ruby." The girl answered. "Thanks for helping me out there."

* * *

While Sylvia, Ruby, and Jaune were doing their thing, another pair of students got off an airship. Nepheli and Beryl took in the sights, ready to start their days training to be Huntresses.

Nepheli was a lizard Faunus, with a yellow smattering of scales along her upper arms and face; along with a fairly long lizard tail to match. Her brownish gray hair was messy, and her eyes were red. She wore a simple blue top and black pants.

Beryl's most notable aspect was that she was tiny. Like, four foot nine. And she was wearing heels! Either way, her viridian hair was tied into a pair of pigtails and her eyes were gold. She wore a green and black blouse under a black jacket and a green and black plaid skirt.

"So, how're we gonna make sure we're together on the same team?" Nepheli wondered, her tail twitching in excitement. "Secret code wor-" She quickly realized what was wrong with that idea.

'Still can't talk.' Beryl signed.

"Right. Well, I could always-" Nepheli bumped into someone, falling onto her butt. "Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry. Wasn't looking where I was going because I was talking to her, she can't talk so I have to be looking at her to know what she's saying-"

"It's fine." The person Nepheli bumped into, a girl with mauve hair covered by a bowler hat, coldly said. She stood back up. "I know someone just like her."

"She nice?"

" _No_." The girl stated, before walking away.

'That was weird.' Beryl signed. 'I hope either of us don't get partnered with her.'

"I like her!" Nepheli said.

'You like everyone.'

* * *

"So, what's your weapon?" Sylvia asked, partway through a conversation with Ruby and Jaune. 

Ruby whipped out Crescent Rose, transforming it into its scythe form. "Crescent Rose. It's a high-impact, customizable sniper-scythe."

Jaune looked confused.

"It's also a gun." Sylvia and Ruby explained at the same time.

Sylvia pulled Nameless out of its scabbard, extending the hilt into its spear form. "Nameless is my darling, a sword-spear that also functions as a lightning gun." The blade split open, arcs of lightning sparking between the two halves. "The name's a joke Carmin made once."

"Who's that?" Jaune asked.

Sylvia sighed. "One of my adoptive parents. I've been with her for a little less than two years by this point. And I'm a little peeved neither she nor Nera at least saw me off on my way here." 

"You want to... talk about it?" Ruby asked.

"No. Hey, do you guys know where we're heading?" Sylvia asked in turn.

"I was following you." Jaune admitted.

"I was following Jaune." Ruby said.

"And I was following Ruby." Sylvia noted.

There was a short moment of silence as the three of them realized what had happened.

"We were going in circles." Sylvia said.

And then they ran.

* * *

Mauva's Scroll went off while waiting in the auditorium, and she checked who was calling her. Roman Torchwick.

"Not today." She muttered, choosing to not answer. 

And then she bumped into Ruby Rose, who had just arrived. "Oh-"

"You don't need to apologize." Mauva instantly said before Ruby could speak any further. "I've been distracted this morning."

"Excited?" Ruby asked.

"In a sense."

Ruby then noticed Mauva's attire, a white suit with black trousers, and the cane she was holding. "Hey, you dress like somebody I know."

Mauva froze up, trying to formulate a lie. "I- Um- I- Sadly, I know exactly who you're talking about."

Ruby chose not to press further. It was pretty obvious, even to someone as socially awkward as her, that Mauva wasn't a friend of Torchwick's. She decided to change the subject. "So, what does that cane do?"

The mauve-haired girl's demeanor shifted, and a smile grew on her face. "Sparkling Cudgel is probably my greatest creation yet. It's based on our mutual... 'friend's' weapon of choice, but slightly modified to be slightly more me. It can do basically everything his can, on top of a flamethrower and alternate elemental firing modes with Dust. It took me a while to develop this thing, since I couldn't actually take apart the original to see how it operated, but I think I've created one far superior..."

Mauva continued rambling about her cane, getting faster and faster until Ruby just plain couldn't understand what she was saying. "Oh, hey, I think I see my sister! I'll talk to you later..." she then realized she didn't know her new friend's name.

"I'm Mauva."

"I'm Ruby. I'll see you later!" Ruby ran off, meeting up with her sister Yang.

Yang was talking with Nepheli and Beryl. "And I said 'Oatmeal, are you crazy'?" Nepheli said. It was probably funnier in context, given that Beryl and Yang both snorted in response.

'I think you tell that exact same story to everyone you meet.' Beryl signed. 'Doesn't make it unfunny, but you have an unhealthy attachment to it.'

"Hi, Yang." Ruby said. "Who're they?"

"I'm Nepheli!" Nepheli said. "And that's my sister, Beryl."

'I can introduce myself just fine.' Beryl signed. She bowed.

Ruby weakly waved, not sure what to say.

* * *

After Ozpin's speech, which could be summarized as "You all are here to be Hunters, and I hope to teach you everything you'll need to know.", the new students were all sent to their shared room to sleep for the night. Dorms would be assigned tomorrow.

Sylvia lied down, looking up at the ceiling. It was kinda surreal in all honesty. She had always dreamed of being Huntress since she was little. Sadly, losing her birth parents ended up putting a big pin in that dream, and being stuck in the foster system until she was fourteen (as a result of being a bit of a smug and rude kid) didn't help matters. But here she was, a Huntress-in-training at the vaunted Beacon Academy.

Of course, she had originally planned to go to Haven, but her adoptive parents did everything short of tell her not to go there.

"Huh. I wonder what was so bad about Haven." She thought out loud. "They went there for their training and came out fine."

"You havin' that same sorta question?" Nepheli asked, lying next to her. "My parents were all like 'don't go to Haven!' and I was like 'Why?' and they just didn't answer. And Beryl clearly knows, but she won't tell me either."

Sylvia sat up, taking a look at Nepheli. "Huh. I don't think I've ever actually spoken directly with a Faunus. I'm Sylvia."

"Nepheli. And, uh, prolly wanna be a little more tactful. I get you're a bit awkward, but most Faunus are going to take offense to being spoken about like they're barely there." Nepheli said. "So, seeing any cute guys slash girls?"

"Haven't really thought about it that much." Sylvia shrugged. "I'm here to learn, not hook up."

"You can do both, y'kno-" A pillow hit her in the face, cutting her off.

The assailant was Beryl, who was glaring at the two of them.

"I concur." Mauva said.

* * *

The next morning, brainstorming was occurring to figure out how to keep two pairs together.

'Brainstorming' in this situation meant the two loudest students using the two quietest students as soundboards for ideas.

Ren looked to Beryl at breakfast, as Nora and Nepheli continued to ramble on about nonsensical ideas involving... sloths of all things.

"I feel your pain." Ren stated.

'I think you somehow have it worse.' Beryl signed.

* * *

It was almost time for initiation, and the new students were getting their weapons out of their lockers.

"So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!" Yang said to Ruby, grabbing Ember Celica out of her locker.

"Yep! No more awkward small talk or 'getting to know you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby lovingly stroked Crescent Rose, sighing happily.

"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

Ugh, you sound like dad! First of all: what does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"

Yang stared at her little sister, trying to figure out a response to that.

"Well, drinking milk is a healthy thing to do." Sylvia remarked, walking in. "I take an extra five minutes to get my hair right to make a good first impression and the first people I see are you two. Hi, I'm Sylvia. You must be one of Ruby's friends?"

"Older sister." Yang answered. 

"Huh. You two don't look alike." Sylvia bluntly said. "Either way, Ruby has at least two friends here. Maybe more? I kinda stopped paying attention to her after I got distracted by this ninja-looking guy and his really silly friend."

"Good morning, Sylvia." Ren said, walking past with Nora.

"Good mornin'." Sylvia replied. "Anyway, Ruby, if we're able to choose teams, I'd be glad to have you on my team. Of course, I'm leading." And then she walked off to go get Nameless.

Yang just stared as the silverette walked away. "Well, she's weird."

"See, Yang? I've already met people. You don't have to worry at all." Ruby assured.

Yang doubted that. 


	3. Volume 1: CMIE - The First Step

A giant Beringel Grimm thundered through the woods, coming into a clearing. It wasn't after anything in particular, just sort of walking around aimlessly.

Up in the treeline, Carmin and Marigold observed it from a safe distance. It wouldn't notice them from up here, especially with them being calm and collected. "So, how're we taking this thing on?" Carmin asked. 

"I can distract it." Marigold pulled the lever on her cane, pulling back the shaft to reveal a segmented silver blade. "And you blast it with your Semblance." She glowed gold for a moment, before warping away.

Marigold reappeared on the forest floor, circling around the Beringel slowly. No sense make any noise and alerting it before she was ready to attack. Carmin readied her guitar from her perch above, hoping she could destroy the Grimm before it could make any major moves.

Marigold approached the Beringel from behind, thumb on the button on her cane for use at a moment's notice. The Beringel began to turn, prompting Marigold to make the first strike. She clicked the button, swinging her sword. The segments of the blade separated, held together by a long black cord, transforming into a bladed whip.

Her first strike hit the Beringel's shoulder, barely scratching the beast's thick hide. But it definitely angered it, which was all Marigold wanted. She dodged a hammer fist from the Beringel, clicking the button her sword to retract the whip back into a simple blade. She jumped onto its arm, slashing at its forearm. This time, she managed to break skin and wound it.

"C'mon, monkey, show me what you've got!" Marigold taunted. She doubted the Grimm could understand her, and she didn't really care. She wanted to let off steam, and this was how she'll do it. Regardless, the Beringel swung its other arm at her. She teleported again, taking full advantage of her Semblance to get on top of the beast's head. She moved to thrust her sword into its skull.

That was when another Grimm (a Manticore specifically) burst out of the treeline and lunged at Marigold. Carmin blasted it with a sonic wave, knocking it off-course into a tree. It recovered from the hit, focus centered on Carmin.

"Change of plans! I'll take the Manticore; I can move better, and you take the Beringel!" Marigold shouted, sprinting for the Manticore. She switched her sword into whip mode, lashing it in an attempt to wrap it around the Manticore's wing. It took off before she could manage to do so.

[(Sworn Through Sword - Devil May Cry 4 OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7RYBgMOatk)

Carmin jumped down from her branch. Her guitar opened up on the sides, revealing two axe blades. A gun trigger popped on the side on the neck (now handle), and small hole opened at the top of the head. She aimed at the Beringel, and pulled the trigger. Buckshot came screaming out the barrel, peppering the Beringel enough to draw its attention. Smirking, Carmin slowly approached the beast with her weapon at the ready to fire again.

Marigold rushed at the Manticore, lashing her whip at it to try and bring it back down to earth. It unleashed a fireball from its mouth, seemingly blasting her to smithereens. And then her whip came out of a nearby tree, slicing into the Manticore's wing and crippling it. The Grimm fell, hitting the ground hard. She jumped out of the trees, retracting her whip back into a normal blade. Before she could plant her sword through its skull to dispatch it, the Manticore thrusted its tail at her, forcing her to teleport to dodge it.

A shotgun blast propelled Carmin over the Beringel. She flipped in the air for momentum, planning on bringing the axe straight down into the beast's head like a meteor. Unfortunately, the Grimm moved and her axe instead found its blade planted firmly into its back instead of its skull. She ripped it out, using another shotgun blast to blast off of the Beringel before it could throw her off. 

Marigold leaned back to avoid a claw swipe, jumping away to give herself some breathing room. The Manticore lunged at her. She teleported, causing the beast to crash into the ground. Its head whipped around, trying to find her. A pain shot through its tail, making her position abundantly clear. She had sliced off the Grimm's tail, standing behind it. 

Carmin switched her weapon to guitar mode, unleashing a concussive blast to blow the Beringel back. She switched back to axe mode immediately after, sidestepping the Beringel's fist slam. She brought her axe down upon its hand, hacking it off in one swing. The beast screamed, wildly thrashing its other arm at her in an attempt to destroy her.

Marigold sidestepped a swipe from the Manticore, ducking under a followup, before bringing her sword up to block a third. She intentionally dropped her guard, taunting the beast. When it took the bait, she warped under it and drove her sword into its stomach. She followed up by slamming it into the dirt, and then tearing her blade out through its head. It disintegrated into nothing.

Carmin swung her axe to counter a punch from the Beringel, tearing through its hand and arm. The best way to describe what its hand had become was like a peeled banana, split in two. She smirked, switching to guitar mode. Carmin went into a full on guitar solo, going completely wild with concussive blasts and slices of razor sharp wind.

There was barely anything left of the Grimm was she finished, which all faded away anyway.

(Music end)

"Jeez, you really went hardcore for that one." Marigold remarked. "If Grimm didn't disintegrate when they died, I'd probably have to buy new clothes after all the Grimm guts splattered on them."

"Sorry. Sistrum really can't do anything but..." Carmin gestured to the trees that were thrashed in her assault. "This."

"I'm just messing with ya. It's not exactly like I have much room to complain about Grimm guts." Marigold clicked the lever on her cane, extending the shaft to cover the blade.

* * *

They returned to a nearby town, stopping at a blacksmith's. Marigold had commissioned some armor for herself, using the job they just finished as payment. It ended up being a better deal for both parties, so it all worked out.

Marigold twirled, showing off her new bronze breastplate and greaves. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you should've gotten a proper suit." Carmin said. She didn't really need armor, and what mobility she had was too important for her to sacrifice.

"When did you become so practical?"

"When we decided to head out to catch a murderer!" Carmin hissed. "And you're prancing around in a dress."

"It's a combat skirt."

There was an awkward silence. Marigold really felt like she needed somebody to give her a low-five right about now. Across the world, a young child sneezed. 

"Whatever. Let's just get going. If we start walking now, I think we can make it to the next town by nightfall." Carmin walked out, with Marigold following behind her in short order.

A woman with brown skin and hair, currently dressed in a suit and tie, pulled out her Scroll. "Mister Granyon, they've left the shop."

* * *

In his office at Granyon Hunter Agency (a company that employs Hunters and sends them on the various jobs that pop up across Mistral) in Argus, Crim Granyon leaned back in his chair.

"Any idea where they're heading, Mocha?" He asked.

"Not certain. I believe they're heading east, into the desert. That's all I can say for certain." Mocha, the woman on the other end of the line, answered. "Shall I continue following them?"

Crim remained silent for a few moments, thinking. "No. I have a better idea. You head back home for now."

"Understood." Mocha hung up.

"Azura!" Crim called. "I have a special job for you!"

A woman in her early twenties (probably 22) walked in. She had long hair that was blue like the ocean, blue eyes framed by glasses with red frames, a red armband with the emblem of a bleeding Nevermore on it, and wore a cyan one piece swimsuit with a dark blue skirt that went around her back half and down to the knee. She was physically shaking, stressed out beyond all belief. "Y-yes, Crim, sir?"

Crim pulled out his Scroll, pulling up pictures of Carmin and Marigold. "I need you to find these two."

"Isn't that usually the police's-"

"And bring them to justice." Crim continued. "The red-head, Carmin Rivers-Melody, murdered her parents when she was ten, and Marigold Melody, the one in the dress, has assaulted hundreds while supporting her."

"Y-you're sure I'm the one for the job?" Azura questioned. "I don't like to-"

"What you like does not matter. These are violent criminals, and they will stop at nothing to end your life if you cross them. And once they're finished with you, they will go after your friends, your family, and all you hold dear. And if you think running away will spare you, you're dead wrong. Find them, and kill them. For the sake of Mistral."

"U-understood, sir." Azura said, shakily saluting her boss. She walked out, feeling like something was fishy. And then she remembered how Mister Granyon gets when he's angry, and decided against questioning his orders. Even if those kids were positively adorable.

* * *

Marigold yawned, sitting next to a campfire with Carmin. "So, what exactly is the plan?"

"We find the asshole and kill him." Carmin said. "If we can't turn him over to the police."

"But, how exactly are we going to do that?" Marigold questioned. "He's managed to go without being discovered for years. And I sincerely doubt we're going to beat him without a plan, considering your parents were both Hunters, and Saffron was training for it."

"I'll think about it when we get there."

"No, you are not. You are going to continue focusing single-mindedly on the objective without thinking about how you're going to accomplish it. I know you, Carmin. And the thing is, I don't usually mind it."

"As long as he pays, I don't care how we do it."

"And that's fine. In most circumstances, it might not be a good idea, but it's comparatively harmless. This is not one of those circumstances. We're after somebody who killed people, Carmin. At least two, tried to kill another, and has probably killed more to cover his tracks." Marigold stated. "We need a plan. You need to figure what exactly we're going to do when we find that asshole."

"I'm going to bed. Watch the fire." Carmin said, getting up.

"Just, think things through, alright? I care about you."


	4. Volume 1: SNBM - Players and Pieces

The first-years were gathered with Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch out on a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. They were instructed to stand on several pads lined up along the ground.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said.

"I'm many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'." Glynda said. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin stated. Ruby and a few others groaned. "That said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years. After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Sylvia got to thinking. She only had a handful of people she knows here, with Ruby, Jaune, Nepheli, and Weiss(?). She supposed Ruby's sister (Young? That didn't sound right) was also an option, and that weird girl who showed up when she was with Ruby and Weiss that one time wouldn't be a bad option. 

And she got sent flying into the sky by the pad she was standing on, a springboard.

' _Well, this is annoying._ ' she thought, righting herself in midair. She pulled Nameless out of its scabbard, transforming it into spear mode, and activated the rocket booster to slow her descent as she neared the ground.

The other students all employed their landing strategies as they were sent flying by the springboards. Nepheli used her curved swords to hook onto branches, Beryl just used her Aura to tank the damage from falling, and Mauva used the recoil from her cane's shots to stop herself right before landing.

* * *

After waiting for a minute so everyone else could land, Sylvia started heading north. Made sense to just go that way and find her partner on the way.

' _Who would be a good partner? Ruby's nice, and if she's got the guts to swing a scythe that big around, she's gotta be good. Jaunewouldn't be a bad choice... just not exactly the greatest. Weiss is... no. I want to get to know her better, but she'd be difficult as far as partners go. Weird girl? She seems a little, distant, but I'd rather have her than most-_ ' She was brought out of her thoughts be somebody bumping into her.

It was Beryl, who frowned in annoyance. 'I don't suppose you already have a partner?'

"I don't know sign language." Sylvia stated. "This is going to be a difficult partnership, isn't it?"

'Probably.'

"You really can't talk, can you?"

Beryl shook her head in response. 

"That's annoying."

'It is.'

"You're agreeing with me, right? I really didn't mean to disparage you or your disability, if I was."

Beryl raised her hand, trying to make it clear it's fine. She understood exactly what kind of person Sylvia was: A good person who's trying her best. Even if she's kinda dumb in these aspects. Beryl pulled out her Scroll, typing up a quick message. {'I'm Beryl. What's your Scroll number?'}

They exchanged numbers so they could at least communicate. Can't really use it in a fight, but at least they could get to know each other better.

"I'm Sylvia, by the way." Sylvia said. "Just, stay away from me when I fight."

{'Big nasty sword?'}

Sylvia nodded.

Beryl wondered how Nepheli was doing.

* * *

Nepheli landed right in the middle of a pack of Beowolves, smiling. She made the first move, rushing forward to slice one into pieces with a cross slash. The rest attempted to lunge at her, only to get a spinning slash to cut them apart.

As the bodies disintegrated, she turned to two Ursas who had just arrived. "What? You want some too?" She beckoned them to attack, tail twitching. One lunged, falling for Nepheli's trap. She bowed, wrapping her tail around its neck. She followed up by stabbing her blades through its neck (just below her tail) and jerking them out to rip off its head.

She instantly backflipped, barely avoiding a claw slash from the other Ursa. Nepheli got ready to shoot it, only for an explosion to tear it to shreds from behind.

When the Ursa disintegrated, she saw Mauva standing behind it with her cane aimed at it. "I suppose that makes us partners." She stated. "Unless you've already partnered up?"

"Well, now I am." Nepheli said.

"Drat. I was hoping I could get someone... calmer."

"I heard some yelling from that Schnee. You could try tradesies with her partner."

"Hard pass on that. I've seen her for all of sixty seconds and I already hate her." 

They both giggled.

* * *

"All the students have formed pairs." Glynda informed, watching the hidden camera feed. It was her, Ozpin, and all the new teachers that had been hired. She wasn't sure what to make of them so far, but she'll reserve judgement for now.

"I worry for Ruby and Weiss." Azura said. "That partnership is either going to be the greatest pairing Beacon's ever had, or the absolute worst."

"Not like Pyrrha's doing much better." Glynda remarked. "I don't care what his transcripts say, that boy is not prepared for this level of combat."

Ozpin sipped his hot chocolate, smiling.

"We'll just have to wait and see how he evolves." Nera said. "I wasn't exactly the greatest of fighters in my first year without my Semblance."

"I mean, you were instrumental to taking out that Orthrus." Iris pointed out.

"With my Semblance. I don't think Jaune even knows what his is yet." Nera watched the feed following Jaune and Pyrrha for a moment, watching them talk about Aura. "And apparently doesn't know what Aura is either."

"Enough about that." Marigold said. "Who's gonna get together? Place your bets now."

"As in, romantically?" Azura questioned.

"Miss Melody, are you suggesting we start a betting pool about which students start dating?" Glynda questioned. 

"Yeah? I'm pretty sure that's fine. It is fine, Headmaster Ozpin?" Marigold asked.

"As long as you don't interfere with their relationships in the process." Ozpin calmly said.

"I put five Lien on Jaune and Pyrrha!" Marigold instantly declared. "And btdubs, any interference was banned in the first place for cheating."

"I'll do ya one better. Ten on Sylvia and Jaune." Viri said.

"Are we really doing this?" Carmin questioned. "That said, fifty on Jaune and Pyrrha."

"I agree with Mrs. Asche. Are you all really doing this?" Glynda asked.

"It's a harmless bet. You don't have to bet if you don't want." Marigold said.

* * *

Sylvia and Beryl arrived at their destination, a small ruin with several chess pieces set on pedestal. 

"So, which one should we take?" Sylvia asked. "You think it matters?"

'Probably not. I like the queen.' Beryl signed.

"I have no idea what that means." Sylvia said, taking a queen piece. "I like this one."

Beryl sighed. Blake and Yang showed up a couple moments later, taking a knight piece.

Nora showed up riding on an Ursa, which keeled over dead a few moments later. "Aw, I broke it." She complained. Ren showed up behind her, clearly having had to chase after her riding the Grimm like a bull.

They saw Ruby fall from the sky, only to get hit by Jaune in midair. This was followed by Weiss falling out of the sky, which prompted Jaune to try and catch her. Both crashed into the ground, Weiss landing on top of Jaune. Pyrrha showed up a little bit after, pursued by a Deathstalker. 

"Looks like the gang's all here! Now we can all die together!" Yang remarked.

"Isn't there at least one pair missing?" Sylvia asked. There were twelve pedestals, and four pieces were missing when they arrived. That would mean two pairs out of twelve had came and went. There are seven pairs here already, leaving one last duo unaccounted for.

" _Wheee_!"

That would be one half of the remaining duo flying overhead and crashing into the ruins. Nepheli got back up in a daze, as Mauva sprinted out of the forest, chased by an Orthrus (a two headed giant wolf Grimm). Mauva quickly turned around to fire a shot from her cane, before continuing to run. She stopped by the ruin with everyone else.

"Now the gang's all here." Sylvia said.

"Anyone got any ideas what to do?" Mauva asked.

"Get your piece if you don't have one, and then we move." Sylvia ordered. "We're only here to get the treasure, so we don't have to fight."

"I think there was some ruins up ahead." Jaune said. "Maybe we could go there?"

"Probably better than standing around doing nothing." Mauva remarked. "Speaking of, we should get moving."

The Grimm all got ready to actually attack. It was awfully polite of them to just let them discuss their next action. Everyone started running.

* * *

Sylvia, Nepheli, Beryl, and Mauva ended up being separated from the others from a blast courtesy of the Orthrus, taking refuge in a ruined temple. They fully planned on fighting the thing once it inevitably showed up, but they weren't in a rush to go fighting without a plan.

"So, who has any ideas?" Nepheli asked. "'Cuz I'm just gonna go berserk on that thing if nobody's got a plan for me."

Sylvia brought a hand to her chin, trying to think. "Those swords slash and shoot, right? And what about your Semblance?"

"I can create wings made of Aura."

"And you two?"

'I can attach glyphs to things that pull them to other glyphs. I'm fairly certain Weiss Schnee has something like it.' Beryl signed.

"I spend Aura to boost my offense, defense, or speed to extreme levels. Comes at the cost of dropping the others though." Mauva explained.

Sylvia smirked. "I've got an idea."

* * *

The Orthrus burst in through the wall a minute later, ready to crush these humans.

[(Dark Skies - Metal Gear Rising: Revengance OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ckdqJ3DLVA)

A firework from Mauva's cane exploded against its side, her Aura manifesting around her to signal that her Semblance was active. She flipped her cane over, shooting the crook upwards to grapple onto a hole in the roof and narrowly avoid a blast of fire from the Grimm.

"Hey, two-face!" Nepheli called, letting loose a burst of pistol fire. She manifested her wings, rushing in to shoulder-tackle the Orthrus into a pillar. It thrashed, smashing her into the wall in return. She fell down to the floor in a daze, shaken by the blow. Beryl rolled her eyes, throwing a rock (with a small viridian glyph around it) into the Orthrus' mouth.

All the debris in the room was suddenly pulled to the beast, smashing it from all sides. And to finish off the opening salvo, Sylvia hurled a lightning spear into its side, where it stuck and exploded.

Despite their assault, the Orthrus still stood. Sylvia sighed, twirling Nameless around as she shifted it into spear mode. She fired a lightning blast, shooting the beast's leg out from under it.

Nepheli picked herself back up, rushing in on foot to hack at the Grimm. She stabbed her blades into the Orthrus' stomach, causing it to writhe in pain and throw her away. Mauva shot another firework at it, barely missing it as it got back on its feet and leapt into the air. It unleashed a stream of fire as it fell, forcing the team to hide behind the pillars in the room to not get burned.

"This thing is getting annoying." Mauva stated. "Anyone got a further plan?"

"Beryl, get your axe set up for me to stand on! Mauve, I need to borrow your cane! And lizardy, can you keep that thing in one spot for a moment?" Sylvia ordered. Despite their annoyance with the misnaming, they followed their orders. Nepheli charged in, summoning her wings to buzz around the beast until Sylvia could pull off her plan.

Beryl flipped her axe around so the flat of it was facing the sky, and Mauva tossed Sylvia her cane. "You better not damage it." she stated.

Sylvia smiled, jumping onto Beryl's axe with the cane in hand. She shot a firework, using the blast to send her flying into the air. She dropped the cane (much to Mauva's annoyance), and twirled her spear around to point it at the Orthrus midair. She clicked a button, activating the rocket booster.

She came down like a meteor, driving her swordspear into the Grimm's skull. It roared in pain, and she began unleashing lightning blasts until the thing eventually just gave up and died.

(Music end)

* * *

After the battle, they returned with the chess pieces in tow, and it was time for the team announcement ceremony thing (as Nepheli had so eloquently put it).

Cardin Winchester and bunch of dudes Sylvia didn't bother to remember the names of formed Team CRDL (Cardinal). Cardin led the team, which probably meant he was just gonna by a bully to everyone and call that leadership.

Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren formed Team JNPR (Juniper), with Jaune being the unlikely leader.

Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long became Team RWBY (Ruby), with the leader being Ruby. Weiss seemed awfully mad about it. 

And Sylvia Sparks, Nepheli Elm, Beryl Elm, and Mauva Summers made up the last team, Team SNBM (Sunbeam). And Sylvia was put in charge of leading. If she was going to be honest, she was nervous. While she wouldn't change her team for the world, she was nervous about the idea of leading them.


	5. Volume 1: CMIE - The Stray

Carmin and Marigold arrived in a desert town in eastern Mistral. This was where the coordinates on the murderer's message led. All that's left was to figure out how they were going to find him.

They walked into a crowded marketplace, looking for something to eat.

"So, what's the plan?" Marigold asked.

"Can you stop asking that?" Carmin hissed.

"Not until you answer it properly."

"Just, let me figure things out." Carmin bumped into somebody. "We know he wants us here. At least, he wants me here. So, the question is-"

"Where's your guitar?" Marigold asked.

"It's strapped to my-" Carmin reached for Sistrum, finding it gone. "What the hell?"

Marigold spotted a figure rushing through the crowd with Carmin's guitar in tow. "There!" She shouted, rushing after the figure. Carmin followed in short order, annoyed that her guitar was stolen.

* * *

The thief ended up leading them to an abandoned part of town, with nobody around to stop the coming confrontation.

"Just get back here already!" Marigold shouted, pulling out her whip sword and tripping the thief. The thief managed to catch theirself, and decided to climb up to the top of a building.

"Why the hell did you take my guitar?!" Carmin questioned.

The thief shrugged, throwing off her cloak. They were a girl, with long dirty purple hair and matching eyes. She was wearing ratty clothes that were definitely stolen and then never ever washed again. She drew two shortswords with oddly long handles. "I wanted to sell it." She bluntly answered. "I'm going to sell it."

Carmin stared at her. "You're serious. That's the entire reason you stole it?"

"Why do you care?" The thief questioned.

"It's not gonna get you much." Carmin said. "Most people don't buy second-hand weapons. Especially off a clearly homeless girl that stinks and obviously stole it." 

"Eh, I'll find a way. That's what I always do. The real world don't care about that kinda stuff. I'll just keep doing what I usually do, no matter what happens. I'll lie, cheat, steal, and survi-"

Carmin clapped, using her Semblance to create a weak shockwave that knocked the thief off-balance. She fell off the roof, dropping Sistrum in the fall. Carmin picked up her guitar, smirking. "You really didn't think this through."

"Sh-shut up!" The thief yelled, readying her swords for a fight. "You don't know what it's like! To have to live everyday on edge, like it could be your last. Have to run to another town every month after someone sees your face one too many times, so the cops don't catch you! I don't have anyone. I don't _need_ anyone." She lunged, going in swinging.

Marigold warped into the way, kicking the thief in the stomach. "Yo, Carmin. Mind if I take her on?"

"Why?" Carmin asked.

Marigold shrugged. "Fair fight."

The thief growled, picking herself up. She leapt right back into the fray, going at Marigold with vicious and deadly slashes of her swords. Marigold dodged each attack with practiced ease, familiar with this type of aggression. It was like fighting a Grimm, no thought put into anything.

Marigold slammed the butt of her cane into the thief's back. "You're not bad." She remarked. "If you were properly trained, you probably could have overwhelmed me with sheer speed and force. What's your name? I'm Marigold."

"Iris. Iris Wisteria." The thief hissed, forcing herself back on her feet. "I'm gonna beat both of you and take everything you have."

"You'll have to beat me first." Marigold returned, retracting the shaft of cane to reveal the blade.

* * *

Azura Aqua walked into a blacksmith's in a small town. She had heard that this was the last place those kids had been seen, and thus the ideal place to start her search.

"Hey, miss. What can I do for ya?" the blacksmith asked. "That trident of yours need a fix?"

Azura remembered that her beloved weapon (Tridangler) was currently strapped to her back. "Oh-, uh, no, sir. I was hoping for so-some information regarding a couple of kids who apparently came in through here." She pulled out her Scroll, showing the blacksmith pictures of Carmin and Marigold.

"Those kids? Yeah, they came through here. Commissioned some armor for the orangey one. I think her name was... 'Daisy' or something. Nice kids. Even took out a big Grimm that had been messing with the town for months."

Azura nodded, finding something off. Even most serial killers tended to be.. off. People they interacted with always mentioned something being weird. This wasn't the case, obviously. "So... where'd they go?"

"Somewhere east. Desert I think."

Azura sighed. Of course they had to go to the one region of Anima where her Semblance was borderline useless. "Thank you for the information, sir."

She headed out. At least she got something out of this.

* * *

Marigold and Iris clashed, the former's blade starting to force the latter's back. 

"Y'know, I'm pretty sure a lot of your deficiency comes from malnutrition." Marigold remarked, kicking Iris in the gut. "Properly fed, you'd probably be able to put me on the defensive. Well, more defensive than this."

Iris growled. She screwed her swords together, combining them into a twinblade. Once again, she came in swinging, twirling her blade around in an attempt to attack from an awkward angle.

Granted, it would've been pretty difficult to block it, but Marigold really didn't need to. She just teleported past Iris, back turned as the thief tripped and fell flat onto her face. 

Iris' body sort of shimmered for a moment, her frustration building ever further. Purple fox (like a red fox's) ears popped out of her head, visible for all the world to see.

"Listen, I really don't have any intent of fighting you anymore. Heck, if you want to travel with us, you can." Marigold offered, turning around. "We'll provide you with food and better shelter, and all you have to do is be with us and not steal." And then she noticed the ears. "Are you a Faunus?"

"I'm not going back." Iris muttered, not even seeming to notice that Marigold was talking. "I won't. Never again." Tears started to well up in her eyes, remembering painful memories.

"Are you okay?" Carmin asked, honestly concerned for the purple-haired girl in front of her. 

"You're not dragging me back there! You humans are all the same! You probably came here to drag me back to Atlas! I'd rather die before I go there again!" Iris attempted to stab herself in the stomach with one of her swords.

Marigold reacted instantly, using her whip to stop Iris from killing herself. "Hey, what the hell?! We don't even know you. We were here to track down a murderer. So, unless you happened to be the killer, I sincerely doubt you'll have any reason to worry about us dragging you back to... ' _them_ '."

Iris stared down at the whip in shock. "Wh-what are you? Why do you care so much about me?"

"You're a person." Marigold said. "No amount of extra ears or a tail could change that. And you had a good reason for stealing Carmin's guitar. So, listen, let's just call it even. I don't have any real beef with you, everything you've done has been paid back in full."

Iris stared at Marigold, dropping her sword. "I- Who- What are you?" She questioned. How could anyone, much less a human, care so much about her?

"I'm Marigold Melody. And that's Carmin Rivers-Melody, my little sister."

"Still older than you." Carmin pointed out. "And I'd like an extra companion on our little journey. Even we still have no leads."

At that precise moment, a cloaked man showed up. "Head to Haven Academy." he told them, much to their collective confusion.

"Who are you?" Carmin asked.

"I was told to send you in the direction of Haven. I don't... know anything else. I didn't even see their face." The cloaked man explained.

Iris' ear twitched. "Do you girls hear... ticking?"

Marigold instantly warped back, before dragging both Carmin and Iris out of the way with her whip.

The cloaked man exploded, splattering chunks of flesh across the nearby buildings.

"About that offer..." Iris said, staring in horror at the mess. "I think I'd like to take you up on it. I should probably get out of here soon anyway." 

"Nice to have you aboard, Iris." Marigold said.

"Hey, you guys are seeing that, right?" Carmin asked, pointing at the blood splatter on the side of one building.

It spelled, "Find Nera Asche, and see where the road leads you."

"What. The. _Hell_." Marigold said, staring at the splatter hoping it was just a trick of the light. It had to be something like that. No way a man exploded, and his blood somehow managed to magically spell out a message in perfectly clear writing. The bomb-maker would have had to been psychic or something.

Iris snickered. "I guess we're heading to Haven Academy? I'm pretty sure I'm still allowed around Mistral City."

"How're you so calm?" Carmin questioned. "A man just-"

"One man died. You think I haven't seen worse?" Iris shuddered at the memory. " _So... so much worse_."


	6. Volume 1: SNBM - Team SNBM

The newly formed Team SNBM took in their dorm.

Sylvia sat down on a bed. "Alright, so, as my first decree as team leader, we shall..."

"Decorate?" Nepheli asked.

'Unpack?' Beryl signed.

"Get in some minor studying before going to bed?" Mauva suggested.

"Get to know each other better!" Sylvia declared. "So, who wants to ask questions first?" 

"Me!" Nepheli shouted, raising her hand. "Sylvia, what's your Semblance?"

"I produce an electric charge that I can then discharge in a bunch of different ways. Mostly I just channel it through Nameless for the lightning gun." Sylvia explained. "So, I guess I get to ask a question next? Beryl, what happened to you to make you mute?"

"Uh, Sylvia, you don't just ask somebody-" Nepheli tried to say, only for Sylvia's Scroll to go off.

"'Mom had my voicebox removed for talking back at her.'" Sylvia read aloud. "That is _horrifying_."

Mauva shuddered. "I concur."

Beryl pointed at Mauva. 'Do you have any hobbies?'

"Wow, that is an astonishingly normal question after that last one." Nepheli remarked. "So, Mauva, what exactly do you do for fun?"

"I understood the question, Nepheli. Programming, gaming, tinkering with weapons, and designing weapons that have little chance if actually ever getting made." Mauva answered. "I used to enjoy petty theft, but I kicked that habit after I decided to become a Huntress."

Sylvia stared at her, the only one caught off-guard by that last sentence. Nepheli, on the other hand, seemed to approve of said hobby. And Beryl had no reaction outside of slight amusement.

* * *

Team SNBM's classes were pretty much entirely shared with RWBY and JNPR. This was by no means on purpose, but the classes were the most basic and important skills a Hunter could have.

Such as, say, Weapons Maintenance and Modification, taught by one Professor Azura Aqua. Today's lesson was just a basic clean up of everyone's gear, a simple way to make sure everyone was up to speed on the most basic aspects of the class. 

As one would expect, nobody was having much trouble. Even Jaune wasn't having any trouble (although that was mostly because his weapon needs very minimal maintenance, just sharpening and cleaning the blade).

Which meant there was a lot of talking amongst the students.

"Huh." Mauva noted, watching Ruby partially disassemble Crescent Rose to clean out some of the moving parts in the transforming mechanism. "So that's how it works."

"Oh, hi Mauva." Ruby said. "You're interested in Crescent Rose?"

"It's probably the most interesting thing in the room, if I were to be perfectly honest." Mauva stated. And then Jaune somehow managed to drop his sword and set off a chain reaction that hit him in the foot with a wrench from across the room, as if purely to prove her wrong. "And why wouldn't I be interested? You're the second-shortest student here, yet you swing around a scythe that's as big as you like a maniac. Do you use any counterbalancing systems to keep yourself stable?" 

Ruby shook her head. "Nope! My uncle taught me how to use one, so I kinda never even thought of the idea."

Mauva put a hand to her chin. "Hmm... have you considered making the handle collapsible? And then shifting the blade vertically?"

"So I can use it in enclosed spaces!" Ruby realized. "I'd need to figure a telescoping design that could handle all the wear and tear Crescent Rose suffers, on top of functioning well with the transforming design on its own."

"I could draw up a couple designs." Mauva offered.

Nepheli snorted, watching those two chatter away. "They're talking nerd. Sylvia, you got any clue what their talking about?"

"If you're asking me to translate, it's just design ideas." Sylvia said. "Something tells me those two are going to get along swimmingly."

Azura took a breath, calming her nerves. At the very least, two students seem to be enjoying her class so far. And the rest didn't hate it either. Plus, she can piece together how most of the students fight based on their gear. That should help with the some contingency plans.

* * *

The next class was Professor Port's Grimm Studies. The Grimm, the very thing Huntsmen... hunt. If one were to last so much as a second out on the field, knowing what each type of Grimm does and how to counter it was essential.

Something that Weiss Schnee seemed to not understand, as far as Beryl could tell. Ruby was goofing off while taking notes and paying attention, while Weiss just sort of angrily stared at her. It was pretty obvious to Beryl what was going on.

In Weiss' eyes, Ruby was an undignified and unqualified idiot who shouldn't be put in charge of anything, let alone the team Weiss Schnee had graced with her presence. At least, something to that effect. 

Of course, this sentiment got hilariously proven wrong when Weiss had been called to take on a Boarbatusk Grimm, and almost lost to it. Which, to Beryl, was the saddest thing ever. She could've killed one when she was eight. And it took Ruby's leadership skills to win anyway.

Weiss later stormed off.

Beryl hoped, for Ruby's sake, that things would smooth over between the two of them.

* * *

After classes were over, Sylvia immediately headed to the library. She had personal studying to do.

"Hey, where could I find a book on sign language?" Sylvia asked the librarian.

"Over there, with other tutorial books." the librarian answered, pointing to a shelf on the far end of the room.

Sylvia grabbed the book in question, sat down, and sighed. "'Sign Language for Dummies'. Well, let's get this over with."

Beryl would later find Sylvia passed out on her bed, holding the book like a teddy bear.

* * *

The next day featured combat classes, taught by Professor Goodwitch, on the schedule.

The presence of several extra people caused much confusion amongst the students, and broiling rage in Sylvia Sparks. Nepheli and Beryl stayed silent, but smiled.

"Yes, students, I've noticed your confusion concerning the other Huntresses in the room. They're some tutors Headmaster Ozpin hired to make sure our struggling students can have some extra help if my lessons aren't quite getting through." Glynda explained.

"Professor Goodwitch, can we just get to sparring?" Sylvia requested. "If I have to look at them for any longer, I can't be held accountable for what happens next."

"I agree with Sylvia." Carmin Asche said. "Not for that... reason, but I would like to see what everyone can do in a less panicked situation. So, who wants to go first?"

Sylvia and Beryl both raised their hands instantly. Viri and Iris snorted. "Looks like fighting your team's leader runs in the family." Iris remarked.

"Alright. Miss Sparks, Miss Elm, get your-" Glynda said, before Marigold teleported out and then back.

"Got 'em! Big sword for Sylvia," Marigold tossed Nameless to Sylvia. "And nasty shotgun axe thing for Beryl!" Beryl caught her weapon, Rhitta, smirking.

They went down to the ring, staring each other down.

"For those uninformed, the match ends when one competitor's Aura level reaches twenty percent or below." Gylnda explained.

"You two, have a good clean fight!" Carmin said. "And have fun!"

Sylvia gritted her teeth, growling. "Beryl, you should probably get ready. I'm starting to see red."

Beryl's response was to snort, amused. She aimed her shotgun at Sylvia, smirking.

"Begin!" Glynda called, prompting Beryl to open the battle with a shotgun blast. Sylvia sidestepped it, charging up lightning in her free hand. Beryl transformed Rhitta into its axe form, twirling it around to show off. Even with that thing's sheer size, it was light as feather to Beryl.

Sylvia threw her lightning spear, running behind it as it flew towards the smaller girl. Beryl sliced it in half, only for Sylvia to kick her in the stomach while she was distracted. Beryl smirked, grabbing onto Sylvia's leg and pulling her off-balance.

The silver-haired Huntress-in-training sent lightning through her leg, forcing Beryl to let go and step back. Beryl rested her axe on her shoulder, circling around Sylvia. Both started to reevaluate their strategies, realizing how their styles countered each other. 

Sylvia twirled Nameless, shifting it into spear mode. She'd need every bit of range she could get against Beryl. Beryl smiled, tapping the ground with a finger.

Before Sylvia could question why Beryl did that, she got pulled to that spot by her leg, crashing onto the floor. She tried to pick herself up, only for the pull to grow stronger. "Clever trick." Sylvia grunted, before sighing in defeat. She had no clue how she was supposed to break out of Beryl's Semblance once it got her. "I forfeit!"

Beryl deactivated her Semblance, letting Sylvia get back up. 'Sorry about that. Instincts kicked in and I went for the instant win button.'

"It's fine." Sylvia said. "You were apologizing, right? I just starting learning sign language, so I'm little... inexperienced."

"Like how you were fighting her?" Carmin suggested from the sidelines.

And then Sylvia stormed out of the classroom.

* * *

Thankfully, it was the last class of the day, and the rest of the team met up with Sylvia in the library.

"Right, so..." Nepheli started. "Mind explaining what that was all about?"

Sylvia sighed. "I suppose you all have a right to know. So, have I mentioned I'm adopted?"

"Not to my knowledge. I'm guessing they're family?" Mauva said. "The redhead and her partner?"

"Legally speaking. Carmin Asche and her wife Nera Asche are my adoptive parents. They adopted me a couple years ago, and proceeded to do the absolute bare minimum of parenting. Especially Carmin, who vaguely advised me on Huntressing, and then did nothing else. At least Nera has the excuse of being heavily involved with her family's company, even if her brother's the one running the place."

"Huh. I guess that makes two of us." Nepheli said. "The whole adopted part. Beryl's actually my aunt, technically speaking!"

'Even if she's a couple years older than me.' Beryl added.

"Wait, you're..." Mauva paused for a moment, doing the math in her head. "Fifteen?"

Beryl nodded.

"Then that would mean that green-haired woman is..."

'My sister, Viri. She and Iris got married during their last year at Haven and adopted Nepheli basically the day they graduated.'

"Huh. So, I know Carmin, Nera, and Marigold and you two know the other two." Sylvia remarked. "Let me guess, Mauva has some deep connection to Professor Goodwitch that we don't know?"

Mauva shook her head. "Nope. I've heard she frequents some... circles vaguely tied ones I was in, but I avoid that kind of 'crime' anyway."

Sylvia blanched in disgust upon realizing what Mauva was talking about.

"Right, so, want to just hang out?" Sylvia asked. "I'd like to do something to take my mind off Carmin and Nera."

"Sure thing! You play video games, right?" Nepheli asked.

"Considering I awoke to my Semblance by frying an arcade's electrical system in a fit of Gamer Rage, I'm fairly certain."

"Well, let's see how good you are, 'Leader'."

"You're on!"

As Team SNBM walked out of library, Carmin smiled; hiding behind a bookshelf.

"Those kids are gonna do what Ozpin couldn't."


	7. Volume 1: CMIE - A Starry Night

The trio of Carmin Rivers-Melody, Marigold Melody, and Iris Wisteria were gathered around a campfire. They were heading to the nearest large settlement so they could hitch a ride on an airship, and take that to the City of Mistral. But now was time to rest.

"So, if we're gonna be on the same team, we should get to know each other better." Marigold said.

Iris shrugged. "Some sorta game of twenty questions?"

"Basically. I'll ask first. How'd your ears only pop up after you missed me that one time?"

Iris' body shimmered, as she turned into an exact copy of Marigold. "It's my Semblance. I can disguise myself as pretty much anyone." As she spoke, she transformed into Carmin to demonstrate, before returning to her normal form. "It doesn't provide any help in a fight, but it lets me pass as a human, and it means I can just disguise myself and escape if things get to hairy."

"Interesting." Carmin dryly remarked. "And totally _not_ paranoia-inducing. Can I ask a question?"

"You just did." Iris pointed out.

"Why were you so scared of us bringing you to Atlas?"

Iris froze up. "Can you ask _anything_ else?"

"I'm serious. Why would you be that damn terrified? You didn't even know if we came from Atlas."

"Carmin, just... relax. She'll tell us when she wants to." Marigold said. "If you're going lead, you've gotta be less confrontational. Forcing issues and driving away your friends is only going to lead to everyone abandoning you."

"And why don't you just lead?" Carmin retorted.

"If I'm leading, then we're heading home." Marigold stated. "Just, calm down, alright? Listen, Iris, while we're not going to press the issue, we do deserve to know the truth at some point if we're to work together. Especially if this hunt leads us to Atlas."

"I..." Iris paused, evidently giving the idea some thought. "I can't. If we're heading to Atlas, I'll tell you on the way."

"That's fair." Marigold said. "Right, Carmin?"

"I guess. It's just... you were so scared. It was unnerving to see anyone that fearful. So, how about you ask some questions?"

"What are your weapons?" Iris asked.

"Promise you won't steal 'em?" Marigold asked, receiving a very enthusiatic nod from Iris. Marigold smiled, twirling her cane around. "My lovely baby is called 'Clockwerk'. It's a cane, if I ever need one, it's a sword, and it's a whip. Plus I can add Dust to make it even stronger."

Carmin rolled her eyes. Not like it was a bad thing if her new ally knew what she could do. "Sistrum acts a focus for my Semblance, so I can blast people with sound waves a lot easier. It's also an axe and a shotgun, because-"

"Because she went overboard in designing the thing." Marigold interrupted, grinning at her adopted sister's indignation. "What? It's true. You don't need a shotgun much for your fighting style of standing around and blasting your victims."

Carmin grumbled something under her breath, before turning to Iris. "So, what's your weapon? Or weapons, as the case may be."

Iris sighed. "I don't know what they're really called." she held up one. At a closer look, Carmin noticed that it had a slot near the cross guard for a magazine, and trigger next to it pointing out of the handle. The barrel stuck out near the base of the blade, pointing straight up. "I stole them off a corpse I found when I was escaping Atlas. They're swords, they'd shoot things if I had bullets, and they combine."

"Well, every weapon deserves a name." Marigold said. "It's a part of you. Clockwerk is my baby, my darling baby who tears my enemies to pieces." She lovingly stroked her cane.

"She's weird." Carmin said. "I love Sistrum, it's my special thing, but she's on another level of crazy for weapons. But, we should name yours. If only for simplicity."

Iris remained silent for a couple seconds. "Orthrus. I'm calling it Orthrus." She firmly stated. "It's the name of a Grimm from an old story I once heard." she explained, once she noticed the sisters' confusion.

"Cool." Marigold remarked. "Not as cool as Clockwerk, but still cool. We should," she yawned. "Get to bed. If we wake up early, we should be able to make it to a settlement with airships by nightfall."

* * *

A young lady used a saber to parry a blow from another girl her age. They were sparring in the training room at Haven Academy, matching each other blow for blow. 

The young lady had black hair, with a dyed white streak. It was fairly clean, with a bang covering her left eye (her eyes being dark green). She was wearing a white vest jacket over a black tanktop, armor over her left arm, and black pants with gray patterns like scattering ash. Her weapon, nicknamed Arsenal, morphed from a saber into a spear. Her name was Nera Asche.

Her opponent had orchid pink hair, tied up into two pigtails, and blue eyes. She was wearing a frilly ensemble, with a skirt that went down to her just above her knee and flowery patterns. She was wielding a blade mounted to her wrist (nicknamed Hidden Thorn), with a trigger near her index finger to let it fire like a pistol. Her name was Orcha Blossom.

Orcha lunged for a thrust, only for her blade to diverted by the shaft of Nera's spear. Nera drove her heel into Orcha's stomach, knocking her onto her rear. Nera pointed her spear at Orcha.

"Come on, Orcha. This is the eighth time you've been parried and then promptly beaten." Nera said, transforming her spear into a hairpin that she then put on. "You need to work on a more defensive fighting style. Or at least, one that isn't so single-minded about destroying your opponent."

"My Semblance increases how strong am I with every hit I land." Orcha pointed out, retracting her blade and standing up. "I should be aggressive."

"You also lose all that energy when you take damage." Nera retorted. "Your Semblance isn't the end all be all of your fighting style. Treat as an extra bonus, that spare tool you've got for a rainy day."

"Easy for you to say. Your Semblance just makes you good with anything you can get your hands on."

"I'm not claiming I'm any better about it. Without my Semblance, I'm just a sword fighter as far as practice goes. But, my teammates should know what they're doing wrong. I still need to get better with what weapons I use for specific situations." Nera admitted. "Look, how about we get you something to help you defend yourself better in combat? A buckler shield or something of the sort. That should patch up your defenses."

"Sounds great, leader." Orcha smiled at Nera. Before suddenly bringing out her blade and pointing it at Nera's throat. "Dropped your guard!" She giggled.

Nera let out a small chuckle. "I suppose I did." her hairpin melted, reforming in her hand as a spear pointed at Orcha's throat. "But so did you."

* * *

Azura Aqua arrived in the desert town Carmin and Marigold had visited. Interviewing the locals got her basically nothing, and exploration had found jack.

And then she saw the message.

"'Find Nera Asche'..." she read out loud, horrified. That was blood. So much blood. What did these kids do? "Who's Nera Asche?" She wondered.

She pulled out her Scroll, calling her boss.

"Azura, what is it?" Crim asked, answering the call almost instantly. "Have you found something regarding those killers?"

"Something of the sort." Azura said. It was definitely easier to talk to him over the phone, without any piercing gaze to crush her spirits. "I'm sending you a picture." she snapped a picture of the message, sending it along to Crim.

"What the..."

"Exactly my thoughts, sir. 'What the'. So, I need to ask, who's Nera Asche? I recognize the name, but can't place where I heard of it."

"Have you paid attention to literally any television in the past two years? Or heard of the Asche Company?" Crim questioned.

"Oh, the people I buy all my parts from!" Azura realized. "Still doesn't answer who Nera is."

"I can't believe you're both oblivious and not at the same time. Nera Asche is the second child of the owners, and was poised to be the heir. And then she came out, both as a girl and as someone willing to be a Huntress. She's at Haven Academy currently, a first year."

"Oh, that's actually really helpful. I can call up Headmaster Lionheart, and he can-"

"Do not contact him." Crim instantly ordered. "This does not concern him."

"Why? He-"

"You have your orders. Find those kids, and bring them to justice by any means necessary." Crim hung up.

Azura stared at her Scroll, baffled. Crim was acting really off.

"Alright, looks like we'll have to do this without Lionheart's help." she said to herself.

* * *

The trio of Carmin, Marigold, and Iris (in her human disguise) were on their way to Haven Academy, aboard an airship. It had taken a quick bribe to smuggle them on to a supply ship, but they were on and sitting in the cargo hold. it was a starry night over a valley, a beautiful sight to see as the airship flew over it all. A view that our heroes (sadly) couldn't see.

"So, what's the plan?" Marigold asked yet again.

"Find Nera and talk to her." Carmin answered. "We don't know anything else yet."

"Fair enough." Marigold shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you're thinking."

"I'm not stupid, Marigold. I've been thinking. It's just, we don't know anything. All we know is that the killer's strong."

Iris raised her hand. "What do you guys know?" she asked. "I've seen plenty of lowlifes-"

"You mean you've seen a mirror?" Carmin joked.

"Myself included, and I'm pretty sure I could narrow down your suspects."

"We don't actually know much." Marigold said.

"Just... how they kill. They cut their victims hundreds of times after pinning them to the wall with knives, letting them slowly bleed out. Beyond that, they paint cryptic messages on walls with blood." Carmin explained.

"We met you because we were heading to coordinates one of their messages gave us."

"You... you two are really dumb." Iris said. "It's pretty obvious it was a trap."

"How would you know?" Carmin asked.

"I do that sorta thing all the time." Iris then realized what it sounded like she was implying. "I mean the tricking someone into going somewhere part. I get them somewhere secluded, and then rob 'em blind!" she punched the air for emphasis. "Honestly, most humans are kinda dumb."

"Not... going to disagree, but... maybe you should keep those thoughts to yourself." Marigold suggested.

"And White Fang members are even easier to scam. I just tell them I'm a Faunus, and then they'll just give me enough Lien to last me for weeks."

"That was actually something I had thought about. What do you think of the White Fang?" Carmin asked.

"Buncha easy marks. I'm all for Faunus rights 'n stuff, but I ain't getting killed over it. Like I said before, I'll lie, cheat, steal, and survi-"

A stinger pierced through the cargo hold's door, cutting Iris off.

"Lancers!" the pilot called out. "You kids might want to hold on to something!"

The ship turned, trying to shake off the Lancers flying after it.

"I'm heading up to see if I can help the pilot." Marigold said. "You two stay here." she climbed up the ladder to the cockpit. 

Marigold saw a ginormous swarm of Lancer Grimm, all eyeing the ship with a predatory look. "Crap." she muttered, right before a Lancer shot its stinger through the windshield and impaled the pilot before he could make a move. He got ripped right out of his seat, dragging into the Grimm's clutches and then promptly torn to pieces. Marigold took over the controls, desperately hoping she could keep the thing on course.

"You guys are gonna need to do something pretty quick!" Marigold shouted, suddenly swerving off to the side before a Lancer could spear her.

"Iris, find something to keep my feet on the floor!" Carmin ordered. "Marigold, when I give the signal, open the cargo doors!"

"Got it!" Marigold smiled, understanding exactly what Carmin was planning. All she had to do was maneuver properly. Marigold grabbed her cane, piloting one-handed, and deflected a Lancer stinger. 

Iris rummaged through the cargo, hoping to find a rope or something.

She found a length of chain. Even better. Iris wrapped the chain around Carmin's waist, before proceeding to tie it around the ladder, and then around a metal handle that stuck out near the cargo doors. After that, she took some fire Dust rounds she found amongst the cargo and used them to weld the chains to their anchors.

Carmin wasn't going anywhere without breaking the chain. "Alright. Iris, you go make sure Marigold doesn't get killed." She readied her pick, doing a test strum that caused the ship to slightly rumble. "Marigold, now!" 

[(This Will Be The Day - RWBY)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwohhs3LvRQ)

Marigold punched the button, opening the cargo doors. Iris leapt up the ladder, firing a shot at the Lancers ahead. She got her blades ready, standing at Marigold's side to stop any Lancers ahead from getting her.

Carmin got to playing, blasting a Lancer's wings off with her opening shot of razor-sharp wind. The others noticed the loss of their comrade, firing their stingers at her. She switched her weapon into axe mode, twirling it around to deflect the stingers, before bringing it down on a stinger. She pulled the Lancer in, blasting it to pieces with her shotgun, before switching back to her guitar to continue her barrage.

Iris kept firing at the Lancers ahead, setting them on fire with her Dust rounds. One of the Grimm shot its stinger at her right as she ran out of ammo, forcing her to hastily swipe a sword at it to deflect it. It stuck into the roof instead of Iris' chest, starting to pull the airship off course.

Marigold sliced the tether, bringing the airship back to (semi) stable flight. The ship shook from one of Carmin's concussive blasts, causing Marigold to grit her teeth. While she loved the firepower, it was getting a little annoying to have to keep forcing the ship back on course. She brought out her whip, wrapping it around a Lancer's neck after it dared to stray too close for her liking. With a quick tug of her wrist, she decapitated it effortlessly.

Carmin continued her assault on the Lancers, blasting them to bits one by one. Several Lancers tried firing their stingers at her all at once, only for them to get blown away by a shockwave. 

If you were to ask how the three were feeling, you'd get three very different answers.

Iris would tell you that she's more afraid than anything else. She never liked flying, and having an army of Lancers attack wasn't her idea of a good time.

Carmin would say she's annoyed by the unexpected obstacle, but enjoyed the challenge. She was always going to be doing stuff like this anyway, regardless of past events, so why bother complaining?

And Marigold?

She was having the time of her life.

" _This will be the day we've waited for_!" Marigold sang, bringing the ship into a nosedive. " _This will be the day we open up the door_!"

"I really don't think this is the time for singing!" Iris shouted, stabbing her swords into the floor to try and keep her footing.

Marigold laughed, pulling up just before they could hit the ground. Several Lancers splattered across the dirt, disintegrating moments later. " _I don't wanna hear your absolution_! _Hope you're ready for a revolution_!"

"You're not even listening." Iris remarked, her ears flattening against her head beneath her human disguise. A disguise she quickly dropped once she realized she didn't need it anymore.

" _Welcome to a world of new solutions_!" Marigold did a corkscrew, for no reason other than fun. " _Welcome to a world of bloody_ -"

(Music end)

"Could you please try to keep the ship steady?!" Carmin yelled. "I can barely see straight after that stunt!"

"Whoops!" Marigold awkwardly laughed, bringing the ship back into a straight and steady flight. "Got a little carried away there, huh?"

"More like a lot!" Iris shouted, utterly frustrated with the orange-haired girl sitting near her. She got up, pulling her swords out of the floor. "Yo, Carmin, how's the Lancers looking from back there?" 

One final guitar riff, followed by the sound of a Grimm being blasted to bits, answered the question. "All clear!" Carmin called out. "I'll be back here for a little while, to keep watch!"

Iris looked around ahead. Thankfully, there weren't any Lancers (or any other Grimm) up ahead, just clear skies and a beautiful moon above. "Looks like we're finally in the clear." Marigold remarked. "Thank goodness. Next time, can we have our Grimm fight on land?"

"That'd be nice." Iris said.


	8. Volume 1: SNBM - Mauvamania

This chronicles the worst week Mauva Summers ever had since she enrolled at Beacon Academy.

It all started on a lunch on an otherwise unremarkable day up to that point. If Mauva was to be completely honest, she was fairly content with how life was going so far. Her grades were good, she had actual friends who cared about her, and she was learning more than ever.

And then Cardin Winchester started bullying some Faunus girl (she was a second-year, part of Team CFVY), pulling on her rabbit ears.

"What an asshole." Sylvia remarked, watching with disgust. "How do people like that exist?"

"Speaking from experience, most bigots tend to just consider those not like them to be beneath them. If Faunus didn't exist, they'd be discriminating on skin color, or hair color, or who you love. Faunus are just an obvious target." Nepheli said.

Mauva sighed. "It's clear no one else is going to do anything, so I guess I have to deal with this." She calmly stated, taking off her glasses and handing them to Nepheli. "Don't lose or break them, or I'll make the Grimm look like a bunch of puppies."

She stood up, walking over to Cardin. "Hello, Mister Winchester, I think you should reconsider your actions." She said, putting her hand on Cardin's shoulder.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Cardin questioned, surprised by Mauva's guts. He's never been directly challenged in public before. "I'm in a pretty good mood right now, and I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone."

"Yes, well, watching you bully and belittle someone already beneath you on society's totem pole makes my lunch have a _horrifyingly_ bitter aftertaste. As such, I simply must put a stop to whatever is causing it. So, do you want to this here, or would you rather go somewhere else? If I remember correctly, the next class on your schedule; as well as mine, is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances concerning a Grimm. That leaves us with about an hour free after lunch to discuss Human-Faunus relations."

Without a word, Cardin and Mauva walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

An hour later, Mauva came into her next class (History, taught by Doctor Oobleck) with a black eye.

"Miss Summers, are you certain you don't want to see the nurse?" Oobleck questioned.

"No, sir. This was injury acquired during training, and serves as a reminder to get better for the time being." Mauva stated. "Please, continue with your lesson. I have been paying attention, despite the headache."

Sylvia and the rest of the team remained silent, understanding exactly how that injury came to be.

* * *

The instant classes let out for the day, Sylvia and the others confronted Mauva in their dorm.

"So, mind explaining what in the hell were you thinking?" Sylvia said. "Confronting Cardin Winchester like that? In the middle of lunch?"

"I saw someone who was being taken advantage of by someone powerful, and chose to act. I understand you all have trepidations, but do not worry. Nothing I do will get me expelled. I'm not sloppy." Mauva calmly responded.

'What did you do?' Beryl signed.

"Nothing much. I just replaced pretty much all their files on their Scrolls with disgusting sounds and imagery. Porcupine flatuence, Nepheli's three bean burrito featuring: vanilla, cocoa, and soy beans, and country music."

"Hey! My burrito-" Nepheli tried to say, only for Mauva to interrupt.

"Is the actual most disgusting thing I've had the displeasure of eating. You are wonderfully talented in a variety of subjects, but cooking is not one of them."

Nepheli crossed her arms, pouting.

"Anyway, I actually need to head out." Mauva said. "I want to grab a couple books from the library."

* * *

That was actually a lie. Well, sort of. Mauva's primary goal was actually to check on Jaune, the other recipient of Cardin's bullying.

Using his Scroll's GPS, she ended up tracking him down to the roof, where he was speaking with Pyrrha.

She ended up walking in partway through his confession to Pyrrha. Tragically, Carmin's bet wouldn't be fulfilled, as the confession was regarding something wildly different.

"I got a hold of some fake transcripts and... faked my way into Beacon?" Jaune admitted.

While Pyrrha was processing that statement, Mauva decided to speak up. "You too, huh?" She said. "I wanted to talk to you about Cardin."

"Oh, uh, hi Mauva." Jaune said. "You faked your transcripts too? But-"

"I don't have a record that could help me get in. And I wanted to make certain Beacon would accept me, no matter what. None of this leaves us three, got it? I don't want this leaking to Cardin and him leveraging it against us."

Cardin, who was hiding where Mauva and the others wouldn't see him, smirked.

* * *

After classes the next day ended, Cardin confronted Jaune and Mauva.

"So, 'friends', I overheard a pretty interesting conversation you two had last night." Cardin said.

"How much can you prove?" Mauva asked, completely calm. At least, outwardly. Inside, she was panicking quite a bit.

Cardin pulled out his Scroll, playing an audio file.

Of a Top 40 country song that made Mauva want to tear off her own ears to make it go away. Cardin muttered something before switching to the correct file.

" _I got a hold of some fake transcripts and... faked my way into Beacon?_ "

" _You too, huh?_ "

"What are you-" Jaune tried to say, only for Mauva to interrupt.

"I'm going to presume you want us to do your homework and the like, unless we would rather you tell Ozpin about this." Mauva surmised.

"There gonna be a problem with that?" Cardin asked.

"No, not at all. Is there anything else you would like to discuss with us?"

Cardin stared at her, honestly surprised by her compliance. "That is all." He said, walking off.

"Mauva, what was that? Are we just going to be stuck under his thumb for the rest of our school life?" Jaune questioned.

"Not if I have anything to say about that. Just, play along with me for now. You'll know when the time is right to start fighting back."

* * *

Late at night, a couple days after Cardin's ultimatum, Jaune sat down next to his dorm's door. Cardin and his team had used him as basically a punching bag. He wasn't particularly hurt (his Aura took care of that), but he was exhausted.

Ruby and Sylvia stepped out of their respective dorms, noticing Jaune.

"Hey, Jaune. Can't sleep either?" Sylvia asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." Jaune answered.

"Well, that's make at least two of us. Mauva's been acting weird ever since she confronted Cardin. I'm worried about her."

"Sylvia, I know it's going to turn out fine, with you and her." Ruby assured. "You're the leader now, so you have to make it work."

Sylvia stared at her. "That is not reassuring in the slightest. What if it doesn't turn out fine?"

"Nope."

Sylvia sighed. "You're going to say 'nope' to any possible scenario I dream up, aren't you?"

"Yep!"

"Well, I suppose pushing forward and not doubting myself is probably the best course of action. Which is what you should do, Jaune. I don't know what issues you're having, even if you're definitely having some, but I know that your heart has the answer to the problem. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm pretty much always available."

"Thanks." Jaune said, standing up. "I'm gonna go to bed now."

* * *

The next morning, before the first years' field trip to Forever Fall, Sylvia decided to confront Mauva.

"Mauva, we need to talk." Sylvia sternly stated. "No avoiding the question, just tell me the truth. What happened between you and Cardin after you decided to help Velvet?"

Mauva sighed. "He has dirt on me and Jaune."

"See how much easier this is when you talk to me? I really don't care about what it is, probably something from your past, but now I can help you. So, what can I do to help?"

"Right now? Nothing. Just, keep away from Cardin. With the field trip coming up, we both know that ape with the IQ that isn't even in the double digits is going to pull something. Keep your guard up, in case he targets you." Mauva said. "And please tell Nepheli and Beryl everything I told you. Exactly."

"I'm surprised you weren't chosen to be the leader."

"It is an odd choice, in hindsight. I guess your plan against the Orthrus must have been the deciding factor."

"But, one good plan doesn't mean I'm the ideal leader."

" _Stop_. _Doubting_. _Yourself_." Mauva stated. "Your gut is a better leader than anything your brain will tell you."

"Nice advice. Come up with it yourself?"

"Old friend, actually. We should get ready, trip starts in about fifteen minutes."

* * *

Jaune ended up being roped into Cardin's plan: Attack the other first years (Pyrrha and Mauva in particular) using Rapier Wasps. Jaune was ordered to gather sap from the trees of Forever Fall (which was incredibly sweet and a popular ingredient for cooking), which was a delicacy to Rapier Wasps.

Elsewhere in the forest, Ruby, Weiss, Sylvia, Mauva, and Pyrrha were busy gathering sap under the supervision of Carmin.

"So, Sylvia, you managed to figure out what's going on with Mauva yet?" Ruby asked, working next to the silverette.

"Sort of. Keep an eye out for Cardin, he might be up to something." Sylvia said. 

"I am right here." Mauva pointed out. "Don't worry too much about Cardin. He might be big and strong, but he has the intelligence of this jar of sap." She held up a jar she had finished filling.

"I know I shouldn't be saying that kind of stuff, being a member of the faculty and all, but you're not wrong." Carmin added, taking the jar and putting it into a wagon with the rest the students have gathered. "Well, I would argue that's an insult to the jar."

"One thing we can agree on." Sylvia remarked.

Before any more conversation could continue, several screams were heard, followed by Jaune and Cardin (whose chestplate was covered in sap) running into the clearing with an Ursa on their tail.

Cardin spun around, pulling his mace out of... somewhere, and swinging the thing at the beast.

Who proceeded to parry the blow and knock him flat onto his rear. Surprisingly, it was Jaune who leapt to his rescue, getting ready to swing his blade at the beast's neck. The Ursa swung a claw at him at the same time, which got blocked by Jaune's shield. His movement didn't look natural, more like someone pulled the shield into place.

Sylvia looked to her side, noticing Pyrrha's hand was extended. She returned her focus to Jaune, just in time to see him decapitate the Ursa in one slash. 

Mauva slowly applauded. "Impressive, Jaune."

"I'll say." Carmin remarked. "Jaune, you've done quite impressively for someone who managed to cheat their way into Beacon."

Jaune paled in fear.

"Mauva told Professor Goodwitch and I everything." Carmin elaborated. "We decided, with Headmaster Ozpin, that you and Mauva have more than proven yourselves to be worthy of our vaunted academy. As for Cardin, I will be dealing with him."

* * *

Thus ends the worst week Mauva had during her time at Beacon Academy. Mauva and Jaune got to remain, despite faking their transcripts, and Cardin was put under Carmin's remedial lesson plan to correct his behavior. 

Mauva looked up from her journal, noticing Beryl and Nepheli were apparently in the middle of playing some fighting game, with Sylvia coaching both of them from the sidelines. "Mind if I join for the next match?" Mauva asked, smirking. 

"How about you and me?" Nepheli said, as she closed out her battle with Beryl with... a incredibly lame low kick.

Mauva adjusted her glasses. "You're on." 


	9. Volume 1: CMIE - A Meeting

The team finally arrived in the City of Mistral at dawn. They dropped the airship off where it was intended to go, with most of its cargo intact (Iris stole a bunch of rounds for herself and the sisters), and headed off to Haven Academy.

"So, what's the plan?" Marigold asked.

Carmin groaned in annoyance. "Same as it was the last time. We find Nera and figure out why the killer wants us to meet her."

"Like I thought." Marigold smiled. "But, I'd like to make a quick detour for Iris. Specifically, clothes and a bath."

Iris (human disguise up) seemed confused. "You're... what?"

"Besides the fact that you smell like the worst cocktail of wet dog and blood-covered corpse, and dress like you fought every single Grimm in Anima, you're our friend."

Now Iris just completely froze up, unable to process Marigold's words. Marigold dragged her along, either not caring about or not noticing Iris' confusion.

"You two go on ahead!" Carmin said. "I'll go find Nera Asche!"

Marigold ran off with Iris, heading off to go find a clothing store or bathhouse. Carmin sighed, pulling out her Scroll to find directions to Haven Academy. 

* * *

Carmin arrived at Haven Academy in short order, taking in the sight of Mistral's vaunted Hunter academy. She'd be going there in a year for training, and it was definitely a pretty place if nothing else.

It wasn't particularly hard to find where Nera Asche was, every student seemed to think that she and her team (Team NERO) were workaholics with a love for anywhere they could train.

Inside the training room, Carmin found a black-haired girl (with a white streak) duking it out with a reptilian Faunus (judging by the absolutely awful case of haliotosis, she was probably a komodo dragon). She knew that the black-haired girl was Nera, but didn't have a name to associate with the Faunus.

The Faunus was dressed up like she was going on a safari, with a pith helmet covering dark green hair, beige coat with a dark brown undershirt, and khaki cargo shorts. Her skin had scattered patches of dark green scales like freckles, and her skin was mostly a shade of green regardless. Her eyes were black, intently eyeing her opponent for any openings. Her weapon was a sniper rifle with an axe blade along the barrel.

"Erin, you do realize I'm not making a move before you, right?" Nera asked. "I know how you like to start fights. By doing nothing and shooting me the moment I try to move."

The Faunus (Erin, apparently) instantly fired her rifle at Nera, who tilted her head to the side to dodge it. Nera smirked, transforming her hairpin into a greatshield. "And last time I checked, we explicitly banned aiming for the head after Robin suffered a concussion. Rubber bullets still hurt, you know." Nera moved forward, keeping her shield up.

"Sorry, boss!" Erin called out, transforming her rifle into a more traditional poleaxe with a single button press. A pole popped out of the stock, giving her a more ideal place to grip her weapon.

"Just because Grimm are our primary targets, doesn't mean we won't fight humans. And if one of us accidentally kills a man, we could easily create a scandal that'll draw Grimm towards the kingdom."

"Boss, you're going into lecture mode again." Erin said.

Nera seemed to snap out of her trance, shaking her head. "Sorry. Where were we?"

Erin answered by lunging at Nera, striking her axe against Nera's shield. Nera shoved her back, shrinking her shield down to something more managable and creating a saber in her other hand to swipe at Erin.

The two clashed, the saber's blade meeting the axe's own. Nera shoved Erin back, transforming her saber into a spear and thrusting behind the protection of her shield.

A boy about the age of the two fighters walked in. His hair was a very bright shade of red, and his eyes were a more subdued but still bright red. He was wearing a bright red blazer over a stark white button-up shirt, with blue jeans. Carmin idly noted his fashion sense was fairly similar to her own, and he carried himself in basically the same vaguely punkish way.

"Those two are really going at it this time around." He remarked. "I guess Nera's wanting to see more improvement."

"Who are you?" Carmin asked.

"Could say the same to you, stranger." The boy remarked. 

Before the boy could say anything, Orcha Blossom came in carrying a tray of eight milkshakes. The boy wordlessly took one, slurping from it.

"Who's the new girl?" Orcha asked. She then leaned over to the boy, whispering. " _Should I stab her_?"

"I don't know anything 'bout her, but I kinda doubt she's stabbing material." The boy answered.

"I'm standing right here." Carmin flatly stated.

"Hi, Carmin!" Marigold called, walking in with Iris in tow. "What do you think of Iris' new threads?"

Iris was now wearing a dark blue hoodie over a black t-shirt and blue jeans. She also didn't stink nearly as much, which was definitely an improvement.

"Your friend looks nice." Orcha said.

"Who're you?" Marigold asked.

"Who're you?" Orcha echoed.

"Who're they?" The boy whispered, leaning over to Carmin. 

"Who're they?" Erin asked Nera, stopping the battle to look at the new arrivals.

"Who are you three?" Nera asked.

There was an extended and very awkward silence, not a single sound coming from anybody. It had just occured to everyone that they had just asked each other the same question several times and gotten exactly nowhere.

"I am Nera Asche, second child of the Asche family, and leader of Team NERO." Nera said, bowing a little. "The Faunus beside me is my teammate, Erin Komodo."

"Just call me Erin." Erin said with a grin.

"Yes, that is how first names work, Erin." Nera dryly remarked. She then gestured to the only guy in the room. "That's Robin. He still won't tell us what his last name is."

"Hey, some people didn't have parents who respect their transition." The boy, Robin, said. "I don't have a last name as far I'm concerned."

"I'd like to be able to find you if you get dragged back home." Nera pinched the bridge of her nose, before deciding to move on to introducing her remaining teammate. "Anyway, pink's Orcha Blossom, she's an idiot, but she's our idiot."

"Ah, you do care!" Orcha cheered.

"Can I have one of those?" Carmin asked, pointing to the milkshakes.

"Well, I bought extra 'cuz I expected to drop some on the way back." Orcha said. "So, why not?"

Iris already had stolen one, and Orcha gave the rest to everyone else. Carmin and her friends introduced themselves.

"Alright, so, why exactly are you three here?" Nera asked. "I doubt you three are transfer students for the Vytal Festival, and if so, you're way early."

"Iris's a Faunus." Erin said.

Iris spat out her milkshake. "How do you know that?" She growled.

"I just do." Erin shrugged. "I dunno what kind, or how you're hidin' it, but you're a Faunus."

Iris dropped her disguise, annoyed. "Great. And I thought that bath Marigold forced me to take would help me hide."

"At least you don't stink." Marigold said. "When was the last time you've had a bath?"

"Last time I didn't just jump in a river to clean up was... a few years ago in Atlas?"

Marigold gagged in disgust. "No wonder you reeked. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't smell worse."

"Regardless of her smell," Nera said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Why are you three here?"

"Oh, we're chasing after the ass wipe that killed my parents." Carmin casually answered. "And tried to kill my best friend, and murdered another guy with a bomb to send a message."

"And you're still pursuing this psychopath?" 

"It wasn't a 'stop following me' message." Marigold explained. "It was an actual message written in the blood splatter, that told us to come for you."

"Do you believe I'm the killer?" Nera questioned.

"Nope." Carmin said. "You didn't even recognize me, and you don't seem like the kinda person to kill. At least, kill someone for no reason."

"Then, what do you want out of me?"

Carmin and Marigold shrugged. "That's what we're trying to figure out." Marigold said. "I'd like having extra teammates, and you seem like a good choice. Your weapon's anything you want it to be, right? I looked you up while waiting for Iris to try on some clothes."

Nera transformed Arsenal into a copy of Marigold's cane. "Sort of. I can make it into anything theoretically, but I'd need to know how it's built. The mechanisms that let it operate the way it does. For example, this looks like your cane," She clicked the lever, which did nothing. "But it doesn't operate like your cane."

"Huh, interesting. I'm gonna guess you're either crazy-trained or have some sorta Semblance to make up for the obvious problem with having eighty-billion weapons up your sleeve." Carmin said.

"My Semblance gives me mastery of anything I can get my hands on." Nera plainly explained. "I don't actually know how they work, but muscle memory picks up the slack."

"Cool! So, would you want to join us on a hunt for a murderer that the cops couldn't catch?" Marigold asked. 

Nera paused in thought. "Break is starting tomorrow. The rest of the team is heading home for break, except for Robin; who's..."

"Gonna check out Argus." Robin said, shrugging. "Always wanted to see the place."

"So, it's not exactly hampering my plans. It would be some more unique training, and would let me refine my skills in combat against more unique opponents. And, taking a backseat to someone else would be a refreshing change of pace." Nera smiled. "I would be delighted to join you three over break. Team, I order you three to enjoy your break without worrying about me. I will return, healthy and happy. That's a promise."

"You got it, boss!" the other members of Team NERO saluted. They left, understanding that they weren't going to be involved in the conversation going further.

"Just remember you promised me an ice cream." Robin stated, before walking out the door.

"He okay?" Marigold asked.

"Robin's strange, but my kind of strange." Nera said.

"Trans?" Carmin asked.

"I suppose you probably saw that whole ad campaign I did a couple years back." Nera sighed. She never did like being recognized purely for her heritage, and that whole ordeal fell under that umbrella. "And heard what he said before. I'm transgender, male to female. I presume this will not be an issue?"

"I don't really care." Iris plainly said, finally adding to the conversation. "I'll take everything ya got if you mess with us."

Nera chuckled. "I appreciate the honesty. I sometimes worry my own teammates are unwilling to criticize me. Even when it's warranted. If I wasn't on board for this hunt, I'd definitely be now. What leads do you have?"

"That's... kind of a problem." Carmin said. "Our last lead was sending us your way."

"So, the trail's gone dry."

"Yep." Marigold said, popping the "p". "But, I think they'll give us something new pretty soon. I think they're gainin' some sorta sick and twisted pleasure out of this game of cat and mouse."

"The question is, how?" Carmin wondered, idly looking up at the ceiling.

Where she saw another message. It was written in what looked like blood but didn't quite seem right. It said, "Head into the forest outside Mistral. Once your encounter there is complete, you'll find a cavern where the hunt will end. For now, anyway"

"Is that ketchup?" Iris questioned.

"I don't think that matters right now, Iris." Marigold pointed out.

"So, I guess the hunt is back on?" Nera asked. "I'll go get my things."

* * *

The team headed out into the forest, wondering what exactly they were supposed to find there.

"So, what exactly do you three plan on doing once you catch the killer?" Nera asked.

"Me and Carmin are heading to Haven next year to start training to become Huntresses." Marigold said. 

"Just what I usually do, I guess." Iris shrugged. 

Carmin yawned, bored. They had been out here for... at least half an hour, and nothing even hinting at an "encounter".

"St-stop right there!" a woman shouted.

They all spun around, to see a blue-haired woman wielding a trident standing behind them. She was shaking, barely able to keep her grip on her weapon.

"Who are you?" Carmin asked. She grabbed her guitar, anticipating a fight.

"I- I"m Azura Aqua!" the trident-wielder declared, pointing her weapon at the four ahead of her. "You- you won't kill anyone ever again! I'm going to stop you, here and now!"

"You can barely hold your weapon." Carmin pointed out, right before a bullet whizzed past her ear. 

Azura's demeanor seemed to shift, laser-focused on Carmin and Marigold. "You two, Nera and Purply, you can go. I'm not gonna fight you unless you make me."

"Fat chance, old lady." Iris retorted, swords at the ready.

"I don't think she's that old." Nera remarked.

"Fine. I'll take you all down." Azura coldly said. She adjusted her glasses, ready for combat.


	10. Volume 1: SNBM - Black and White

Teams RWBY and SNBM were walking down the streets of Vale, on the first day of summer vacation. The students coming in for the Vytal Festival were arriving today (or at least some of them were), which prompted Weiss to suggest the idea of greeting them. Which was why Team RWBY was here. Team SNBM was mostly just out because they wanted to pick up some higher quality Dust from one of the shops and decided to tag along with RWBY on the way over.

And then they saw a Dust shop that had gotten wrecked in a fight. It was where Ruby had fought Roman Torchwick and his goons on a trip over there after Yang was accepted into Beacon.

"Ouch." Sylvia remarked. "Wonder who'd rob a Dust shop and trash the place like that?"

Ruby meekly raised her hand. "I may or may not have done it while trying to stop the bad guys."

"Ooh! Do tell." Nepheli said. "Who were they?"

"Were they White Fang?" Weiss suggested. "It does seem in line with their typical MO."

"And what would that be?" Blake questioned.

"Rob, pillage, and burn anything part of the 'establishment'." Weiss said, with a hint of disgust in her tone. "Usual degenerate stuff."

Blake looked like she was ready to commit a murder for a few seconds.

"I mean, the White Fang aren't exactly the brightest and best representatives of anything." Nepheli said. 

"I'm surprised. For someone as vocal about Faunus rights as you are, I'd expect you to be in support of them." Mauva remarked.

Nepheli shrugged. "They don't exactly care for my existence."

"Regardless, we should probably get going." Sylvia said. "Weiss, aren't we going to miss the students' boat if we don't hurry up?"

Weiss realized Sylvia was right and just plain bolted for the docks.

* * *

They ended up running into a monkey Faunus from the boat. Sylvia's assessment was that he was a major delinquent, something he proved fairly quickly as he turned out to be a stowaway on the boat and chased off by a couple security guards.

Weiss basically dragged them off to chase after him, for some reason.

Said reason ended up basically being a case of Weiss making wild judgements about Faunus and assuming that A: he was a massive criminal (he was technically committing a crime, but stowing away on a boat isn't exactly a major felony) and B: he's part of the White Fang (pretty much just Weiss being racist).

Which, in turn, led to Blake seemingly telling them that she was part of the White Fang at some point and storming off.

Something Team SNBM didn't get to see, because they were busy talking to the weirdest girl they've ever met. 

"So, miss Polendina, how exactly do you plan on fighting in the tournament?" Mauva asked. "I've done my research, and A: you need a weapon,"

The girl, Penny Polendina, vaguely gestured to her back. "I'm always combat ready!"

"And B: you need a team."

"My teammates will be coming along in a few days."

"You went ahead?" Sylvia questioned.

"I wanted to see Vale." Penny plainly answered.

Beryl rolled her eyes. She knew there was something up, but it wasn't her place to ask. And she wasn't sure if Penny even knew sign language. 'We should probably get going.'

"We'll see you around!" Mauva said, as the team ran off to go find a Dust shop that hadn't been robbed. 

* * *

The next morning, Team SNBM woke up to find one of their members missing.

Mauva was gone, leaving a note on the door. "'Going out to investigate that Dust shop robbery. I'l be back in a couple days. Signed, Mauva Summers. PS: be wary of orange-haired men named Roman.'" Nepheli read aloud.

"That's... awfully suspicious." Sylvia said. "Five Lien says she knows who's behind the robbery."

'Ten says it's that Roman guy.' Beryl signed.

"Deal." Sylvia smirked. "Now then, I think we all know what we need to do."

"Try tracking her down!" Nepheli declared.

"Well, sort of. I was going to give her a call, and if she doesn't respond by tomorrow morning, we'll officially head out to go track her down."

"Fine." Nepheli pouted. "Can I go out anyway to look for her?"

Sylvia shrugged. "If you want. Not like I can really stop you without beating you into a bloody pulp."

Nepheli immediately ran out to go search for Mauva. 

"And bring your weapon if you're going anywhere shady!" Sylvia shouted, before sighing.

'You sure that was smart?' Beryl asked.

Sylvia shook her head. "No clue."

* * *

Nepheli ended up running into a friend on her search.

Blake and that monkey Faunus were sitting in an outdoor cafe, drinking tea while discussing plans. Of course, Nepheli instantly ran over and sat down next to them.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Nepheli asked, as Blake and the other one stared at her. "'Cuz if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were talking about how Blake used to be a part of the White Fang, left because of some disagreement about their methods, and is now trying to figure out if they were actually behind that Dust robbery we saw yesterday."

"How did you know all of that?" Blake questioned.

"Lucky guess? And I already knew you were a Faunus from the first time we met, and your reactions to our White Fang talk yesterday made your former membership pretty obvious. At least, to anybody not as dumb as a rock." Nepheli shrugged. "So, what's the plan?"

"That's what we were tryin' to figure out." The monkey Faunus said. "I'm Sun, by the way."

"They'd need somewhere to move all that Dust." Blake noted.

"Like the docks? It's where I'd go to move a lot of Dust quickly beneath suspicion." Nepheli said. "Or have a dramatic confrontation between myself and my old friends. And since I'm also lookin' for Mauva, it's a win-win!"

"Well, it's as good a place as any to start lookin'." Sun said. 

* * *

Mauva hid behind a shipping container, observing the movements of the White Fang and Roman Torchwick as they loaded Dust into Bullhead airships. Odd that he's choosing to work with the White Fang, considering his distaste for the organization. And the absence of Neopolitan. At the very least, it made here and now the ideal place to stop Roman.

Just have to wait for the proper time. Rushing things will only lead to death.

"Brothers and sister of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" Blake questioned, showing up with Sun and Nepheli. Her ribbon was gone, showing off the cat ears that sat upon her head. Mauva had some suspicions, but nothing concrete enough to actually say for certain.

Either way, it threw a monkey wrench into Mauva's plan. She raised her cane, shooting a firework at Roman, who deflected it with his own cane.

"Well well, if it isn't Mini-me! Boys, girls, mind taking care of them for me?" Roman said, aiming his Melodic Cudgel at Mauva.

"Blake, Nepheli, other one! Take care of Roman's associates. I've got Roman." Mauva stated, activating her Semblance to raise her defenses as Roman opened the battle with a firework aimed at her. 

[(Gangsta's Paradise 8-Bit Remix - 8 Bit Universe)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixSKnIGjDsE)

Mauva switched her Semblance to speed, rushing at Roman and jabbing her cane at his chest, getting parried by her former idol. He swung for her leg, only for Mauva to circle around to his back before it could land. She shot off a point-blank firework, only to see it deflected into the sky.

"Fast as ever." Mauva remarked. Brute force and speed wasn't going to win this. She stepped back, narrowly avoiding a swing from Roman, and fired into the ground to kick up some debris into Roman's face. It didn't do much outright, but gave Mauva time to make some distance between them.

Roman flipped his cane over, firing off the crook as a grappling hook. Mauva ducked under it, and shot off another firework at Roman. He sidestepped it, retracting the crook and hooking onto Mauva's leg. 

She flipped head over heels as Roman moved in to strike again. Mauva slammed her cane into the ground, shooting another firework to launch herself into the air. As she reached the peak of her jump, she shot off a volley of fireworks to make sure Roman would take at least one major hit.

Mauva landed, noticing that Blake, Nepheli, and Sun had beaten down all of Roman's associates. And then she got a cane jab to her nose, knocking her on her rear. Nepheli was the first to move in to assist, going into an all-out barrage of slashes. Roman blocked and parried each attack, keeping the reptilian Faunus at bay.

Nepheli jumped over him, lashing her tail at him the moment she landed. Roman got struck in the side, caught off-guard by how painful that one hit was. Nepheli turned around to follow up, swinging both blades together to try and break his guard. Roman chose this point to let off another firework, blasting Nepheli back. Blake stepped in not a moment later, seeing an opening.

She brought her blade up to his neck, keeping him in a hold so he wouldn't try anything funny.

"Surrender." Blake ordered. "You can't win."

"And what makes you so sure about that, hmm?" Roman retorted, shooting a firework into the ground and getting Blake off him.

(Music end)

* * *

Sylvia ended up feeling really worried about Mauva and Nepheli, and decided to spend the afternoon looking for them. Beryl was off searching elsewhere in Vale, and that left Sylvia basically on her own.

"Oh, hello friend Sylvia!" Penny called. Ruby was with her, with a fairly serious expression on her face.

"Can't talk right now, Penny." Sylvia stated.

"Are you also looking for a friend?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Mauva and Nepheli. How'd you know?"

"I'm with Ruby, looking for Blake? She says Blake wasn't who she thought she was."

"We... we think she might be working with the White Fang." Ruby explained. "And that she's in trouble."

"Hey, why don't we all search together?" Penny suggested. "Three heads are better than one, after all! Although, I'm not sure how somebody could have three heads. Maybe some kind of Faunus I've-" 

"It's a figure of speech, Penny." Sylvia said. "Any ideas where to-"

An explosion in the distance, coming from the docks, cut Sylvia off.

"Well, there's a start." Sylvia remarked.

"Let's go!" Ruby declared, grabbing both of them and rocketing off with her Semblance.

* * *

Mauva growled in frustration, using her cane to prop herself up. Even with all four of them going at him, Roman Torchwick somehow managed to keep up with them and beat them back. Admittedly, they probably weren't at their A-game, but still.

That Dust-empowered firework should've done a number on him, if he hadn't hid behind a shipping container. It did vaporize the thing, so it wasn't a complete failure.

"Roman, I swear to you, you're going down." Mauva hissed. She was at her limit. Most of her Aura had been spent shooting fireworks, on top of the damage Roman had dealt. 

"Mini-me, you vastly underestimate how screwed you are. Neither you nor your friends could take me down." Roman pointed out. Mind you, he wasn't exactly at one hundred percent either, but at least he could stand without his cane. He then smacked Mauva with his cane, turning his attention to a nearby rooftop.

Where Ruby, Sylvia, and Penny were standing.

"Ah, Little Red! So glad you could make it!" Roman aimed his cane at them, smirking.

"Penny, you should-" Sylvia tried to say, only for Roman to shoot a firework while she and Ruby were distracted. They both got blasted back, hurting from the shot.

Penny stepped forward. "I'll take care of him, friends Ruby and Sylvia." she stated. "I'm combat ready!"

She jumped down, scanning for threats. More White Fang had shown up during the battle, and would prove to be a nuisance in a fight with Roman. Penny brought out her weapon, a series of seemingly levitating swords called the "Floating Array" that came out of her backpack. She deflected a firework from Roman with one, before throwing a set at the group of criminals rushing at her to send them flying.

Penny walked towards Roman, laser-focused on him.

"You know what? I think it's about time I cut my losses." Roman said, running away. "Cover me, boys!"

Penny moved her blades into a different formation, charging green energy between them in preparation to fire. And then a missile exploded in front of her. Two Bullheads hovered in the air, weapons aimed at her. She shot two blades backward into the warehouse behind her, and then several into a Bullhead.

She pulled herself back, causing the Bullhead to dip forward and make the pilot attempt to pull up. It was around this moment that everyone involved realized how the blades worked. They were connected to Penny via nigh-invisible wires made of some absurdly durable material. And using it, she pulled the Bullhead into the ground, causing it to explode from the impact.

Penny then brought all of her blades back to her, bringing them into a circular formation in front of her. They pointed forward, crackling with more green energy. After several seconds of tension, she unleashed a massive beam of light that tore through the remaining Bullhead.

With all threats neutralized, Penny retracted all her blades, returning them to her backpack.

* * *

About an hour later, the rest of Teams RWBY and SNBM showed up, and they spoke with their respective members.

"So, what was that?" Sylvia asked. "Why were you fighting that guy?"

"His name is Roman Torchwick, a former... friend of mine." Mauva explained. "I used to work with him, for a short period."

'Why'd you leave?' Beryl signed.

"I discovered Roman is working on a grander scheme, and was going to far more aggressive methods to enact it. I couldn't abide by it, so I left. So, there you go. Do with me what you want."

"Well, you're not working with him now." Nepheli said. "And I really doubt you'll ever come back to him at this point."

"So, what was the scheme?" Sylvia asked.

"I'm not entirely certain." Mauva answered. "But it can't be good."

"Hey, did anybody see where that weird girl went?" Nepheli asked, looking around.

"Penny? She was right..." Sylvia looked around, only to find that the strange girl had left. "Over there."

* * *

Penny sat in the backseat of a limo heading away.

"You should now better than to go running around in a strange city." Her driver told her.

Penny bowed her head, depressed. "I know, sir."

"Penny, your time will come..."

* * *

Roman walked into a warehouse that was serving as his base of operations for the time being, sighing.

"How very disappointing, Roman." A woman said, standing in the shadows behind him.

Roman spun around, aiming his cane at her for a moment before putting it down. "Wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

"We were expecting... more from you." The woman continued, ignoring Roman's words.

"Hey, you were the one who suggested working with those mutts in the White Fang!" Roman retorted.

The woman created a fireball in her hand. "And you will continue to do so. We have very big plans for you, Roman. All we require is a little, cooperation."

[Credits Theme: Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio (also Mauva's theme)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LJg9UvoKvk)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Volume 1 for Team SNBM closes out. For the next couple chapters, it's going to be all CMIE until their Volume 1 ends.


	11. Volume 1: CMIE - Clash

Carmin Rivers-Melody, Marigold Melody, Iris Wisteria, and Nera Asche stared down their latest opponent, Azura Aqua.

Carmin took note of Azura's weapon, a trident. She noticed three triggers (blue, red, and yellow) along the shaft, and a small button near the head. She guessed that one of the triggers was for a gun function (she quickly noticed a gun barrel sticking out near the head), but drew a blank of what the others did.

[(Android 18's Theme - Dragon Ball FighterZ OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLgdVEL1c78)

Azura took a step forward, prompting action for everyone else. Marigold instantly transformed her sword into a whip, lashing it at the Huntress. Azura brought up her trident, causing the whip to wrap around it.

Marigold smirked, only to be pulled in by Azura before could do anything. Azura twirled her trident around, unwrapping her weapon, before aiming it at Carmin while she tried to start playing. She fired, shooting Carmin's guitar out of her hands. Without missing a beat, Azura then kicked Marigold.

Iris rushed in, going into an aggressive flurry of slashes with her swords. Azura blocked every attack with her weapon, countering by smacking her with the shaft of her trident. Nera instantly moved in to pick up the slack, going in with a saber in hand. Even with Nera's mastery of her weapon, Azura was clearly above and beyond anything she could've hoped to do, easily defending herself from the barrage. Iris tried to attack from behind, only for Azura to jump up and cause Nera and Iris to crash into each other.

Azura noticed Carmin trying to pick her guitar back up, and instantly pulled one of the triggers on her trident. This time, the head shot out like a harpoon; tied to the rest of the weapon by a black cable. It tripped Carmin, her leg getting caught between the tines of the trident, and then stabbed into the ground.

Marigold warped behind Azura, going in swinging. Azura rolled her eyes, pulling the same trigger as before to cause the cable to retract, pulling her away. She used the momentum to kick Carmin in the back. Carmin tumbled across the ground, hitting a tree. Azura picked up Sistrum, preparing to smash it with her trident. Marigold snatched it with her whip, throwing it to Carmin.

Carmin caught her guitar, smirking. She instantly unleashed a sonic blast, forcing Azura to plant her trident in the ground to keep her footing. Nera capitalized on the opening, turning her weapon into a warhammer to smash into Azura's side and send her flying.

Azura crashed into the ground a good distance away from the teenagers, landing next to a small lake. She picked herself back up, smirking. Not as much water as she'd prefer, but more than enough for her purposes. The four approached her, ready to keep fighting. With one gesture, a high-pressure jet of water shot at Marigold, barely missing the orange-haired girl's head.

"Of course her Semblance is that." Carmin muttered. "Keep up the offensive, and seperate her from the water!" She punctuated that sentence by firing a sonic blast.

Azura made a wall of water, neutralizing the blast, before shifting it into a gigantic greatsword that swung in a sweeping motion with a single wave of her hand. Iris and Marigold, who were trying to close the gap, leapt over the watery blade and tried to bring their own down upon Azura in return. She brought up her trident, blocking all three blades, before using her Semblance to blast them away with a stream of water from the lake.

Nera moved in with a spear in hand, hoping to counter Azura's trident with a similar weapon. Azura looked amused by the attempt, catching the shaft of Nera's spear with the trident's head, before throwing the spear away. Nera didn't even seem fazed by it, which confused Azura for all of maybe a tenth of a second.

In that time, Nera had revealed a dagger and slashed at Azura's head. Azura's reaction was to immediately get back, causing the blade to nick her cheek instead of cut out an eye. Azura did have to give it to the kid, she was vicious when she wanted to be. Nera's spear melted, the liquid metal slithering across the ground to return to its owner. It reformed in Nera's hand as another dagger, which she hurled at Azura while the Huntress tried to block a shot from Iris. 

This second dagger didn't quite hit true, as Azura shot it out of the air with a bullet of water from the lake. Azura turned her focus to Nera, aiming her trident at her. That was until Carmin leapt into the fray with Sistrum in axe mode, wildly swinging the instrument of murder at Azura. Azura deflected each move easily, her strength, speed, and skill easily outclassing Carmin's.

Sistrum's blade hooked onto the shaft of the trident after an overhead swing. Carmin smirked, pulling the trigger. A shotgun blast gave her the force needed to pull Azura's trident out of her hands, taking away one of her biggest boons in the fight. Carmin kicked the trident away, making sure Azura wasn't getting it back without a fight.

Azura shifted her stance, apparently ready to take the four on with just her fists. And then she just waved her hand, using her Semblance to bring some water to herself to create a replacement trident.

"Y'know, that Semblance is getting real annoying!" Marigold said, bringing out her whip to lash at Azura. The Huntress brought up her trident, which blew the whip away the moment it made contact. Marigold quickly understood why: it was basically a high-pressure water cutter, but shaped like Azura's weapon of choice.

Azura thrusted her trident at Carmin, missing when the girl used the shotgun of her axe to propel herself out of harm's way. Iris took over the offensive, her swords combined into their twinblade form. The Faunus in disguise spun her blade around, using the agility honed over years of sneaking around and stealing to keep Azura on the defensive. Azura wasn't quite used to the angles Iris' weapon struck from, but still managed to keep her watery weapon in the path of anything threatening. 

With her focus centered on Iris, Azura didn't quite have the time to react when Nera came in from behind with another crushing warhammer smash; this time to the back.

It sent Azura flying, leading her to crash into the dirt just outside of a cave. Her Aura, an ocean blue like her hair, fizzled out. Azura tried to force herself to stand, only to collapse. She was lucky that hit didn't cripple her. It hurt like hell, sure, but at least she'd make a full recovery soon.

The kids came up to her, Nera holding Azura's trident.

"So, what should we do with her?" Marigold asked.

"Tie her up?" Carmin suggested. "I want answers."

* * *

A little while later, Nera had tied Azura up (using her trident), and the gang was sitting down in front of their captive.

"Why were you attacking us?" Carmin questioned.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Azura hissed.

"That's... why she asked the question." Marigold pointed out. "Are you working with the killer?"

Azura tilted her head in confusion, her cold and focused demeanor completely vanishing in place of the awkward girl the team had first seen. "But, isn't she the killer?" She asked, pointing at Carmin as best she could with her arms tied to her sides.

"What would ever give you that idea?" Carmin questioned, honestly baffled. "They murdered my parents, and tried to do the same to my best friend. We're after the killer."

Azura scanned Carmin's face for any signs of deceit, only to find none. Either she was the greatest liar in Remnant, or she was telling the truth. "And you, Marigold, do you beat the tar out of anyone who could catch her?"

"I mean, I do do a lot of tar-beating-out-of, but that's more of a 'me' thing than anything else." Marigold shrugged.

"Mostly like destroying clubs I frequent while trying to find me." Carmin added.

"It was _one_ time!"

Azura stared at them as Carmin and Marigold started to bicker. "U-um... could you please give me my Scroll? I need to call my boss?"

"Why? So you can get him to send backup?" Iris questioned. "I know exactly how people-"

Nera pulled Azura's Scroll out of the Huntress' pocket, looking through the contacts list. "I'm guessing that 'Crim Granyon' is your boss?"

Azura nodded.

"If you say anything out of line, I will not hesitate to stab this," Nera held up a rapier. "Straight through your eye and out the back of your skull."

"J-just call him already."

Nera called Crim, holding the Scroll up to Azura's ear.

"Azura, what do you need?" Crim asked.

"Cr-Crim... I think the intel you got is wrong." Azura stated. "These kids... they're not monsters. They're people after the real monster."

"Azura, you're fired." Crim bluntly said, before hanging up.

"That... happened." Iris said, caught off-guard by that turn of events. She might not have been the most well-versed in having a job, or a boss, but she was fairly certain they didn't just randomly fire employees.

"Well, that settles it." Azura said, slipping out of her bonds easily. "You kids are definitely not evil."

Nera realized that Azura could've escaped their capture and probably wounded at least one of them before they could stop her. "How?"

"Crim and I go way back. He's not the type to do something like that unless he's hiding something." Azura explained, picking up her trident. She groaned, her back aching from the hit. "So, I'm gonna help you girls catch that killer. What's your current lead?"

"After an encounter in a forest, we were supposed to enter a cave." Carmin said, noticing the cave nearby. "Well, that settles that."

"You're going to walk into an obvious trap?" Azura questioned.

"We don't have any other leads." Carmin bluntly explained, shifting Sistrum into its axe mode. "And we're strong enough to at least wound them and get away."

Azura stared at Carmin.

"So, are you going to follow?"

Azura nodded. "If you're so certain this is a good idea."

"Who said anything about this being a good idea?"

They ventured into the cavern, hoping to find the killer and put an end to their evil.


	12. Volume 1: CMIE - Dry Trail

The team of Carmin Rivers-Melody, Marigold Melody, Iris Wisteria, and Nera Asche; now joined by Azura Aqua, ventured into a cavern in the forest. It was their only lead to find the one who killed Carmin's parents, and tried to kill Saffron.

The way was lit by Azura's trident (which could apparently function as a light), the team slowly making their way through the otherwise pitch-black cavern. Smears of blood decorated the walls, making it clear someone (or something) had taken many lives in here.

"Ugh." Iris blanched at a particularly fresh smear of blood. "Whatever's in here, it's definitely-" She pinched her nose shut, finding an actual puddle of blood. "Killed a lot."

"You think it's the killer?" Nera asked.

"Doubt it." Carmin said. "The killer's modus operandi was the same for all of their known murders. Pin them with knives and then make them bleed out. I don't think this is them."

"So, what is it?" Marigold asked.

"I think it's a Grimm." Azura said. "A very powerful one."

"How strong?" Carmin asked.

Azura gestured to a pile of weapons that had to have been used by Hunters that ventured into this deathtrap of a cavern. "Strong enough to slaughter all of them. And smart enough to create a treasure hoard." she shuddered. "Reminds of some rumors I heard about Kuroyuri's fall."

"Any guesses what it'll be like?" Marigold asked. 

"Big and nasty." Iris said. Her ears twitched (even if everyone else couldn't see them), and she immediately halted. "And nearby."

There were footsteps, of something big. It sounded like claws grinding along the stone.

The team slowly rounded a corner, finding an open chamber with a hole in the roof to let some sunlight in. They probably would have considered it to be quite picturesque, had it not been for what was in the middle of it.

The Grimm that had killed all those people. It was a gigantic wolf, with two heads. Well, one head and then another that looked like it was stitched onto the left side of the other's neck. Blood stained its claws and teeth, and ancient wounds were scarred over across its body.

"What is that thing?" Marigold questioned, keeping her voice down to try and not alert the Grimm.

"An Orthrus." Iris said. "I think."

"It's real?" Carmin whispered.

"Apparently." Nera said, creating a saber. "And it sees us."

The Orthrus turned, glaring at the five. It ground its claws against the ground, making it clear it was going to strike.

The team got their weapons out, ready for the upcoming fight.

"Nera, Iris, break left. Azura, Marigold, right. Keep that thing off me." Carmin ordered, shifting Sistrum into guitar mode. She unleashed a blast of sound, the Orthrus side-stepping it and lunging. The others did as ordered, Azura and Marigold using their weapons to latch onto the Orthrus' second head and pull it back.

The Orthrus was barely pulled off course, missing Carmin and crashing into the cavern wall next to her. It got back up, not even fazed by the crash, and leapt for Marigold and Azura instead.

Marigold warped out of the way, and Azura clicked the trigger again to pull herself towards and past the Orthrus before it could strike. The Orthrus landed, spinning around to face those two. The mouth of its second head opened up, and a blast of ice shot out at them. They jumped to the side, avoiding the attack.

Carmin immediately started thinking, trying devise a strategy to take this thing down. Nera ran underneath the beast, slashing at its ankles, before jumping up onto its back. She transformed her saber into a rapier, stabbing the beast. It threw her off and then tried to stomp her flat. 

Thankfully, Nera managed to roll out of the way, unharmed. While she couldn't see the wound she made very well, it was clear that the Orthrus didn't notice or care about the injury. She hadn't even slowed it down. The second head turned to face, bending its neck at an unnatural angle to so, and unleashed another blast of ice. Nera turned her rapier into a shield, blocking the blast.

"Iris! Azura! Distract it!" Carmin ordered. Iris and Azura shot it, before moving in to engage in melee. "Marigold, think you can slice that extra head off?"

"Can I?" Marigold smirked.

"Can you?"

"Of course I can!" Marigold snapped, before laughing. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"

"Of cource I am." Carmin smiled, shifting Sistrum into axe mode to fire off a shotgun blast at the Orthrus.

[(Die - RWBY)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrC_n5hUDKs)

Marigold made her move, running into the fray with her blade at the ready. The second head of the beast, turned to her, firing off another blast. Marigold warped up, dodging over it, before transforming Clockwerk into a whip to latch onto a stalactite. She swung around in a circle, trying to keep herself out of the Orthrus' line of sight. It kept firing at her, barely missing each shot.

Iris and Azura slashed at the Grimm's forelegs, trying to bring it down for an opening. It reared up, slamming down and forcing them to get back. Iris fired several shots at it, trying to agitate it into attacking her. Its response was to open the mouth of its main head, spitting out a wave of fire. Iris flipped to the side, the flames narrowly missing her.

Carmin blasted it with a full-force shockwave, knocking it onto its side for a moment. The Orthrus leapt back onto its feet, changing targets to her. 

Marigold used the shifted focus to make her move, dropping down onto the beast's back. She wrapped her whip around the neck of the second head, trying to garrote it off. "A little help here?!" She shouted, trying her best to stay on as the Orthrus thrashed to get her off.

Carmin ran over, jumping up next to Marigold. She grabbed hold of her adoptive sister, planting the head of Sistrum into the beast's neck. Carmin pulled the trigger, using the recoil to send herself and Marigold into the air; tearing off the Orthrus' head.

"One down, one to go." Nera remarked, transforming Arsenal into a halberd. She moved in, using the Orthrus' pain as an opening to slash at its main head. The strike left a gash in the beast's neck, making a start on putting the beast down for good. Iris moved in, hacking at the opening with her blades.

Azura drew all the condensed moisture in the cavern together, unleashing a jet of water that tore the Orthrus' head off once and for all.

(Music end)

It disintegrated, leaving our heroines free of its wrath.

"We did it..." Nera noted, exhausted. "We actually managed to beat that thing."

Carmin fell onto one knee. "Somehow." She then noticed a message on the cave wall near her, painted in red paint. The killer loved faux-bloody scrawls, didn't he? "'Congratulations, you have survived the Orthrus. My test has concluded. Return to your daily lives.'" She read aloud. "'We will meet in Haven.'"

"Seriously?" Marigold questioned. "All that effort and we still have nothing to show for it."

"Weren't you the one who didn't want me going on this trip in the first place?" Carmin pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but we went ahead and did it, so I would've liked to, y'know, actually catch the bad guy."

"So, where do we go from here?" Iris asked.

"Home." Azura said, adjusting her glasses. "You girls have done more than enough. I'll be taking over the investigation from here. Carmin, Marigold, you two intend to become Huntresses, right?" The two nodded. "Focus your efforts on training for that day."

* * *

And so, the hunt for the killer was put on hold. Carmin and Marigold went back home empty-handed, Iris vanished the moment the girls stopped looking at her, Nera chose to spend the rest of her break with her family, and Azura took over the investigation.

A girl dressed in all black appeared in Crim's office, standing before the man himself.

"You've done everything as planned, Mister Granyon." She said, voice far too distorted by her mask to be properly identified. "Now, on to the next phase."

Crim smirked. "A new world dawns soon. With me as its leader, the one to destroy the evils that plague it."

[(Closing Credits Theme: Almost Dead - Powerman 5000)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_76uz-JZDw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Team CMIE's Volume 1 is complete. Expect a break while I write up at least some of Volume 2 for both teams.


	13. Volume 2: CMIE - Initiation

Today was finally the day. Carmin, Marigold, and Saffron were at Haven Academy for initiation, ready to finally become proper Huntresses.

Without any leads, there wasn't much point worrying about the murderer (and Saffron didn't have anything on them either), so they just focused on training up until today. Iris was off, somewhere, Nera and her team would be here, and Azura was busy investigating the murderer. 

"So, any idea how the teams are being formed?" Marigold asked, walking on campus with Carmin and Saffron.

"Random draw." Carmin said, causing Marigold and Saffron to stare at her. "Was I the only one who did research?"

"Well, I just hope I can show my darling's style." Saffron said, bringing out her weapon. It was a sword that used Dust energy to create the blade, with a cap above the emitter to keep it at a reasonable length. Of course, this meant it had a rather unfortunate resemblance to something else.

"Beat 'em with that florescent light!" Marigold cheered.

"We both know it isn't that!" Saffron snapped, before sighing. 

"I dunno. Looks pretty mundane to me." Carmin remarked, smiling at Saffron's indignation.

"Don't listen to them, baby..." Saffron whispered to her weapon, gently stroking it.

"You've got weird friends." A new voice remarked. Carmin and Marigold turned around to see some girl they didn't recognize. "Or, friend."

"Who are you?" Carmin asked. Something about this girl seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place what.

"C'mon, you don't remember me?"

"Nope."

The girl's body shimmered, transforming into Iris (in her human disguise). She was wearing a new outfit, a purple hoodie under a chestplate, with a navy blue plaid skirt that went down to just above her knee. "How 'bout now?"

"Iris!" Carmin and Marigold cheered, hugging the Faunus in disguise.

"Can't- breathe-!" Iris choked out, causing the two to release her.

"What are you doing here?" Marigold asked. "Wanted to visit us?"

"I'm actually here for the same reason as you." Iris answered with a smirk. "After we parted ways, I started to miss you girls. So, I decided to get myself in here. I got my weapons cleaned up, got some new clothes, moved up here so I wouldn't have to go far to get to Haven, and made sure I'd be enrolled." She explained, before leaning in to whisper. "I faked my transcripts."

"Well, at least you're here?" Marigold shrugged. "If us four can be on a team, we'd be unstoppable."

"What would even call our team?" Saffron wondered. "We got a C, an R, M, I, an S, and another R."

"Let's focus on getting through initiation and finding out who our teammates are first." Carmin said. "By the way, Team Carmine has a nice ring to it." 

"How do you even spell that?" Iris asked.

Before Carmin could answer that question, somebody bumped into her. The person was a tall girl with aquamarine hair in a bob cut and brown eyes. This girl wore a green coat with white accents, a black shirt that exposed her midriff, and form-fitting black pants. Strapped to her back was a quiver, full of arrows with color-coded feathers, and a teal compound bow with buzzsaws for pulleys. 

"Oh-, sorry 'bout that!" The girl said, hopping back up onto her feet. "Hey, you seem pretty intense. Gives me goose _bumps_."

It took them a moment to realize what the girl meant, and then promptly groaned at that awful pun. The girl started laughing at her own joke like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Three adults ran over, apparently looking for the girl. There were two women and a man. The man and one of the women didn't bear any resemblance to the girl, but the other woman did, with viridian hair tied up in a ponytail and cold eyes of crimson. "So this is where you went, my daughter."

"Hi, _mom_." The girl said, with a very sharp tone that was nothing like the weird jokester Carmin had seen a moment ago. "I'm allowed to wander off."

"Are you scouting out the competition?" The girl's mother asked. "I sincerely doubt those four are going to be a threat."

"I'm just socializing. There's time before the big speech thing from the headmaster." The girl said, before turning her attention back to Carmin and her friends. "I'm Viri Elm, meased to pleet ya!"

"Are you okay?" Iris asked.

"Unfortunately, she is." The mother said. "I'm Dian."

"Huh. Nice to meet you." Marigold said. "We're going to go... now..." She walked away.

The others ran after to catch up.

* * *

Marigold only stopped once they got into the auditorium.

"Okay, what was that about?" Carmin questioned.

"I don't like that Dian chick." Marigold bluntly said. "Gives me the creeps."

"She was intense." Saffron said, shuddering. "I think she was plotting to kill someone."

"Aha! I knew they'd be somewhere!" Orcha shouted, running up with the rest of Team NERO.

"Long time no see." Nera said. "I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to see my favorite trio of kids again."

"You're only a year older than us." Carmin pointed out.

"A lot can change in a year." Robin said. "It's a pretty long time, about a seventeenth of your life."

"So, how's it been?" Erin asked. "Meet any interesting first-years? Besides you kids?"

"Just one weirdo." Carmin answered. "She's a goofball."

"Don't make too many judgements about her." Nera said. "Me and Orcha... did not get off on the right foot. We sort of... may have completely despised each other when we met. And then we were put on the same team."

"And now we're besties!" Orcha cheered, putting an arm over Near's shoulder.

"I... am not sure I'd say we're that close. You four should be prepared to not be on the same team, and be prepared to be grouped up with people you may not have liked. There's roughly thirty new students this year, and the chances of your four all being together are slim."

"As long as I'm with either Carmin or Marigold, I'm good." Iris said.

"What about me?" Saffron asked.

"I don't even know you."

"You know me!" Viri shouted, popping up behind Iris. The Faunus in disguise jumped in shock, growling at the green-haired girl.

"Is that the girl you were talking about?" Orcha asked.

"Unfortunately." Carmin remarked. "Are you going to keep following us around until teams are assigned?"

"Probably. I don't know anyone else here, and my family's gone home now." Viri shrugged. "You're the closest things I got to friends here."

" _Joy_." Carmin's tone was dripping with sarcasm, sarcasm that Viri didn't seem to pick up on. 

"We can paint our nails, try on clothes, talk about cute girls,"

"You mean cute boys, right?"

"I stand by what I said." Viri said, before pointing at Iris. "Like her! She's cute."

Iris promptly hid behind Marigold, not sure what to do. 

"Please stop bothering my friend." Marigold stated.

"But-"

"I said: stop bothering my friend." 

Viri retreated, deciding to go try making friends elsewhere.

"So, anything interesting happen lately?" Orcha asked. 

"Besides her? Nope." Carmin said, popping the 'p'.

" _Will all first-years please report to the auditorium?_ " A woman's voice requested over the PA system. " _I repeat, will all first-years please report to the auditorium?_ "

Carmin swore she recognized that voice.

"Well, looks like that's our cue to get going." Nera said. "We still have our own classes to deal with."

"See you soon!" Marigold said, waving as Team NERO left.

The rest of the first-years came into the auditorium, most in a bit of a panic about nearly being late. Or something to that effect, Carmin wasn't paying much attention.

The headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart, stepped onto the stage to speak. "Hello, students. I am Leonardo Lionheart, the headmaster of this academy. Why you wish to become a Huntsman doesn't matter. Whether for money, or for the thrill of combat, or just to protect your fellow man, you all have come here for the same reason. To seek knowledge. Knowledge that, hopefully, you will receive here. I see young minds all around me, ready to be molded into true fighters for peace. I hope you all learn something new in the next four years you all spend here."

" _We've sent directions to specific rooms in the academy to your Scrolls._ " The PA system went off, letting the woman speak. " _Each room will have three other first-years sent there, alongside yourself. Those are your teammates. After that, you will have one hour to determine who is the team leader, and the name of your team. If you cannot decide a name, we will pick a name for you._ "

Just about every Scroll in the room made some sort of sound (or vibrated), alerting the students.

"As for the few students without Scrolls, head to the terminal by the entrance and enter your name. It will give you your directions. All right students! Let's have a good time, and please don't injure anybody." 

"So, where'd you get sent?" Marigold whispered to Carmin.

Carmin held up her Scroll. Marigold gasped. "Let me guess, we're going to the same place?" Carmin asked.

"Yep!" Marigold cheered. "Saffron, what about you?"

Saffron did the same as Carmin, causing Marigold to frown.

"But you're not."

"Let's just hope my teammates are as cool as you guys." Saffron said. " _And maybe a little more appreciative of my baby_." She quietly added.

* * *

Carmin, Marigold, and Iris (whose directions apparently led her in the same way as those two) headed into a sparring room. Inside, they found a terminal (probably to enter in the team details), and nothing else of note.

"So, looks like our other teammate can't follow directions." Carmin noted. 

"I can!" a voice called from up in the rafters. It was Viri, who hopped down from her perch. "I just wanted to surprise you guys."

"Of course we're teamed with you." Carmin grumbled. "You know what? Fine. If we're going to be stuck with you, so be it. What can you do?" 

Viri pulled out her bow. " I got this." She clicked a button, causing it to transform into a mace with the buzzsaws expanding to form the head. "I also like gardening."

"Right. So... I guess I'm the leader?"

"That's what I was thinking." Iris said.

"If you wanna." Marigold shrugged. "I'm cool with whatever."

"I wanna lead." Viri said. "How 'bout we fight for it?"

Carmin pulled Sistrum off her back, transforming it into axe mode. 

"First person to get knocked down loses." Marigold said, moving to act as the referee. "Good with you?"

Viri gave a thumbs up, transforming her mace back into a bow. 

"Three, two, one, go!"

Carmin immediately made the first move, going in swinging. Viri blocked the first strike with her bow, kicking Carmin in the stomach.

Viri drew an arrow, immediately shooting it at Carmin's leg. Carmin blocked it with her axe, and then fired a shotgun blast at Viri. Viri rolled to the side, firing another arrow. This one hit the ground right in front of Carmin's feet.

Carmin didn't have any time to question why Viri shot it there, when the arrow exploded. She barely managed to dig her axe into the ground to keep her footing, annoyed. Viri's bow made it difficult to approach her, and switching to the guitar and blasting took too much time to be a real option.

Viri fired another arrow, barely missing Carmin's head. "You payin' attention? Or should I give you some space to think?"

Carmin spun her axe around to face behind her, firing a shotgun blast. The recoil propelled her forward, faster than Viri could react to. Viri got hit in the chest with a flying kick, crashing into the wall. She still stood on her feet though, much to Carmin's chagrin. Carmin lunged, swinging her axe for Viri's legs.

Viri transformed her bow into its mace form, bringing its head down to block the strike. She then slammed it into the wall, using the spinning saws to send her up into the air.

A little too far into the air, as she hit her head on the ceiling. Viri hit the floor a moment later, flat on her back.

"Ouch... did somebody catch the number of that truck?" Viri mumbled. She then hopped up onto her feet. "I guess you're the leader... you."

Carmin stared at Viri. "You... actually don't know any of our names?"

"Red," Viri pointed at Carmin. "Orange," And then to Marigold. "Cute purply." And finally, at Iris.

"Right. So, I'm Carmin Rivers-Melody." 

"Marigold Melody, Carmin's ever-so-beautiful older adoptive sister, at your service." Marigold bowed.

"Still older than you."

"And I'm Iris Wisteria." Iris quietly added. 

"Now that we're all introduced, what's our team name?" Carmin asked. "We've got C or R, M, I or W, and a V or E. So, looks like we're Team Carmine."

"How do you even spell that?" Marigold asked.

Carmin typed it into it the room's terminal. "C-M-I-E."

The terminal beeped, the team set. " _Alright, now that that's dealt with, head to this dorm room._ " The woman's voice from before said, as a room number popped up. 

* * *

The four headed to their new room. It was undecorated, with four beds sitting along the far wall by the window.

"So, leader, I think we all know what our first order of business is." Marigold said.

"Unpacking." Carmin stated.

"And then decorating!" Viri cheered.

"Yes, and then we decorate. And then it's straight to bed." Marigold said.

"Fine, _mom_." Viri whined.

And so, the four got to unpacking and decorating their dorm. Marigold stuffed several copies of her dress into a drawer, Carmin neatly hung up a few jackets in the closet, Viri tossed some clothes onto her bed, and Iris just sat down and watched everyone else. Not like she had anything to unpack, since everything she owned (some Lien and her weapons) was on her already.

Viri pinned a curtain up with her arrows. Carmin made the flaw in that clear by tugging on it, ripping the curtain. Viri sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. The team leader sighed. 

Iris crawled around on her bed, trying to find the optimal position to take a nap. Marigold snorted at the sight, but chose to not say anything.

Viri set a flowerpot down on the windowsill, with an eglantine rose growing in it. She hoped her family would take good care of her old garden while she was away.

This team may have been a bit odd, but they felt ready. Or at least, as ready as they'll ever be. 


	14. Volume 2: SNBM - Best Day Ever

A gunshot resounded inside a bookstore, followed by two teenagers walking out.

One was a dark-skinned woman with green hair, and the other was a white boy with grey hair.

The green haired girl sighed. "Well, the job's finished."

"Don't worry too much, Emerald. Nobody's going to know it was us. I made sure of that." The boy assured. 

Emerald shuddered. "A little too sure, Mercury."

* * *

While those were fleeing from the scene of a murder they had committed, the Beacon cafeteria was lively.

Break was almost over, and today was the last day before classes resumed. Ruby was talking about her plan for Team RWBY to have the 'Best Day Ever' to close out break, Weiss was busy admonishing Ruby for stealing her binder to make said plan, and Yang was making awful puns from the sidelines. 

That's how this food fight started, with someone reacting poorly to said puns. After that, it all became a blur as to what was going on.

Sylvia swung around a hunk of flatbread like Nameless, forcing Blake onto the defensive. As the cat Faunus dodged every single attack, Sylvia grew frustrated. She channeled lightning into her improvised weapon, causing it to explode.

Blake struck Sylvia while she was open with a baguette, sending the silverette flying through a (thankfully open) window and outside.

She landed in front of Marigold, who was taking a walk.

"Oh, hi, Marigold." Sylvia groaned, picking herself up. And then she had to duck to avoid a watermelon hurled out the window by Beryl as she tried to take out Ruby.

"Is everyone okay in there?" Marigold asked. 

Sylvia shrugged. "It's not like this stuff is going to cause significant injury."

As if to prove her wrong, Pyrrha used her Semblance on a bunch of soda cans, sending them flying at Team RWBY and _NBM.

"Okay, most of us aren't going to cause significant injury." Sylvia corrected.

"I'm not going to judge, I've been in a lot of these situations, but jeez." 

"Weren't you hunting after, like, three different murderers?"

Marigold took several seconds to formulate a response. "Fair enough."

"So, why exactly did you and your friends decide to start working here?" Sylvia asked. "I'm not stupid, I know you girls aren't the kind to be tutors."

"It's... complicated. That's all I can say right now." Marigold stated, sighing. Of course Carmin had to pass down her insight to Sylvia. "So, break's almost over. Any plans for you and your team?"

Sylvia shrugged. "Been thinking about it. Probably just going to play some video games with the team for a few hours before going to bed. Got the new DLC for Cross Tag Battle, so that should be fun."

* * *

_Mauva sat in a room with Ozpin, being interrogated. It was the night of her battle with Torchwick at the docks, and Mauva had been taken in for questioning._

_"Miss Summers, I want to ask you one question. Why didn't you tip the police off to Torchwick's plan in the first place?" Ozpin questioned._

_Silence._

_"Miss Summers, I have little intention to get you incarcerated."_

_Mauva sighed, trying to calm her nerves. "I... I didn't want to get implicated in the process. Roman is a man who has changed a lot since I last saw him, and not for the better. I have little doubts he wouldn't out me as being a former member of his gang if given the chance. I only tell you because... you already know, don't you?"_

_Ozpin smiled._

* * *

Mauva sighed, watching as Sylvia got her into yet another infinite combo. She swore, this game really like have inescapable infinites that could be done easily. Sylvia wasn't even looking at the screen!

"Where do you even find these games?" Mauva questioned. "I've never even heard of... Primal Instinct, before."

"Trust me, being a fighting game aficionado means playing lots of different games. Including the ones that are basically just hot stinkin' garbage with a neat premise."

"Is dinosaurs a 'neat' premise?" Mauva asked.

Sylvia shrugged. "It's stupid, sure, but I find it to be a breath of fresh air over the martial arts stuff you usually see."

Mauva merely gestured to the screen, where Sylvia's T-Rex was juggling Mauva's velociraptor by spamming one tail swing. 

"Never claimed the game was good. Just, stupid enough to be funny."

* * *

_Iris sat down in an interrogation room with Blake._

_"So, we already know that happened, so I'm going to skip that." Iris said, dropping her human disguise. "I'm more interested in you, Blake."_

_"You're a Faunus?" Blake asked. She had her suspicions, but nothing to prove it without outing herself in the process._

_"Yes. So, I want to know... Why do you hide?"_

_"It's... you know exactly why." Blake stated, avoiding the question as much as possible. It forced her to ask herself questions she didn't want answered._

_"I don't. That's why I asked. If I were to guess, I'd say your former membership in the White Fang has made some enemies you would like to leave behind."_

* * *

Blake stood up. She and the rest of Team RWBY were playing some card game, right up until she just plain got sick of it.

She yelled at them for staying complacent while Torchwick and his cronies were nodoubtably growing in strength, and then stormed off.

* * *

_"Sorry, Mom." Nepheli said. She and Viri were in an interrogation room, about to discuss what happened at the docks._

_"You don't have to apologize." Viri said, smiling. "Honestly, if I was in your shoes, I probably would've acted even sooner than you. Dunno how, but I'd find a way."_

_"So, you're not mad?" Nepheli asked, surprised. Viri never really approved of anything she's done like this before._

_"Only because you didn't get Sylvia and Beryl in on it. Even I had the sense to make sure my whole team was helping out."_

* * *

Nepheli yawned, watching as Sylvia's character kept her's in a blockstring that didn't look like it was ever going to end.

"I've just been blocking for the past thirty seconds." Nepheli pointed out. "Could you stop?"

As requested, Sylvia did so. And then proceed to block Nepheli's attack and counter with a combo that ended up beating her.

"How are you so good at these games?" Mauva questioned. "I just watched you download it and you're already playing like a master."

"Most of these skills carry over." Sylvia answered, shrugging. "Wanna call it quits?"

"Yes." Nepheli and Mauva both answered at the same time. 

Sylvia giggled, before realizing something. "Crap! Gotta get to the library!"

She ran out the door, crashing into a girl with black hair and amber eyes. The girl didn't fall over, but Sylvia crashed onto her butt.

"Sorry." Sylvia said, as the girl helped her up. "I was in a major hurry, and I didn't watch where I was going."

"It's fine." The girl said. "I'm Cinder."

"Sylvia. I'm going to get going." Sylvia ran past Cinder.

Cinder's friend, Emerald, let out a small laugh. "She's an easy mark."

"Now now, we're not here for such things. We're here for grander ideals."

Cinder smirked. Something about that girl seemed, interesting.


	15. Volume 2: CMIE - First Classes

"Good morning, Team CMIE!" Marigold cheered, causing the others to bolt awake. "Wow, the more I think about it, the worse that spelling gets."

"Good to see you're as energetic as ever, Marigold." Carmin muttered, yawning. "What time is it?"

"About... eight o'clock." Marigold shrugged. "Classes don't start until nine."

Viri sighed in relief. "I was worried you were wakin' us 'cuz we missed our first classes ever. Imagine how awful that'd be! We'd be laughing stocks, forever known as the tardiest students to ever disgrace the halls of Haven. We'll be expelled on the spot, I'd have to go back home. My mom would probably decide to take me back, and that'd be the end of all joy in my life, if I don't end up-" With every single word, she grew more manic and unhinged, culminating in her maniacally laughing.

"I was waking you guys so we could get to know each other better." Marigold said. "Me, Carmin, and Iris all know each other already, so it'll be us asking you stuff for the most part."

"Are we sure you're not the team leader?" Iris asked.

"I can't plan or strategize to save my life. I go slashy-slashy until the bad guy's gone."

Iris shrugged. "Fair point. I guess you're like-"

"You're like the team's mom!" Viri said, apparently out of whatever funk she was in a moment ago. 

Marigold sighed. "Sure, let's go with that."

"Anyway, feel free to ask away."

"What's your Semblance?" Carmin instantly asked.

Viri pulled out her bow, noticing a fly in the room. She shot it out of the air. "I can shoot pretty much anything I can see. It's like, everything except for me and my target just melts away, and I see exactly where I need to aim to hit them. What about you guys?"

"I can control the sound waves I make and shoot shit."

"Teleportation." Marigold answered. "Only short distances though."

"I can disguise myself." Iris said, turning into a copy of Viri and then back to her usual human disguise.

"So, is she a... y'know, a Faunus?" Viri asked, vaguely gesturing to Iris.

Iris dropped her disguise, annoyed. "How'd you figure it out?"

Viri shrugged. "I just guessed. I thought you mighta been a cat or something with the way you slept, but I guess you're a fox. No wonder you're so... _foxy_."

Iris groaned. "Please don't say that ever again."

"No promises." Viri smiled. "So, anything else you wanna know?"

"What's up with your mom?"

"Can you ask about... literally anything else?"

"That bad, huh?" Marigold said. "Just say what you want to say, alright?"

"She's a bitch." Viri bluntly stated. 

"Ouch."

"I can definitely see that." Carmin said. "That Dian chick was kind of..."

"Off-putting?" Iris suggested.

"Probably evil?" Marigold asked.

"I was gonna say bitchy, but those work too." Carmin shrugged. "Who were the other two adults?"

"My adoptive, and real, parents." Viri answered. "The Elms took me in after my father died and my mother left."

"Wait.. if your last name's Elm, what was it before?" Marigold asked.

"Olivia. I used to be Viri Olivia before I changed it to fit in with my real family." 

"Huh. Good to know in case we need to find you."

Viri realized something. "Hey, what time is it? I can't see the clock from where I'm sitting."

"It's... eight fifty-five." Carmin answered.

There was an awkward moment of silence as they all put two and two together.

They all desperately rushed out the door to hopefully make it to their first class ever. 

The people in the dorm (which was Saffron and her team) next to Team CMIE poked their heads out the door, realizing why those four were running. They started running too.

"Left!" Marigold shouted, leading the way. "I went ahead and memorized the campus layout while we were decorating, this route's the fastest way over!"

"What's our first class about, anyway?" Iris asked.

"Weapon Maintenance and Modification!" Carmin said, pulling out Sistrum in its axe mode. She dug it into the ground as they turned another corner, firing the shotgun at the end to give herself an extra burst of speed. "I thought it'd be helpful for all of us to learn about how to make our gear better!"

"My dad taught me all about that stuff!" Viri shouted. She was hanging onto her mace, using the spinning saws to wheel her down the halls. "Can't wait to ace this!"

* * *

They reached the classroom just in time, bursting through the door. Team CMIE landed in the room in a tangled heap.

"Oh, thank goodness!" The woman from the PA system said, rushing up to the pile of girls. "If I had to give you four a bad grade for being late, I wasn't going to be all that happy."

Carmin looked up, realizing why she recognized that woman's voice. It was Azura. She was wearing a blue suit with a yellow tie, a remarkably formal attire that seemed a little much for the rather young Huntress.

"Azura?" Carmin asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm teaching here." Azura explained. "The old professor for this stepped down, and I was out of a job. I can give you girls the details later, after you're done with your classes. So, please take your seats." 

Team CMIE sat down. Viri was confused on how Carmin knew the teacher, but decided to save the questions for later. Maybe they were cousins or something. Carmin noticed Team NERO was also present, their team leader ready to take notes (while Orcha was napping next to her).

Azura took a deep breath, preparing to speak. "So, students, when you see this," She pulled Tridangler out from behind her desk, raising it to the sky for all to see. "What do you see?"

Viri raised her hand. "I see... a trident?"

"I appreciate the honest answer, Miss Elm. When I see something like my Tridangler, I see an extension of the wielder. Their weapon of choice is part of who they are. How many of you can fight without a weapon?"

Most of the class raised their hands, answering Azura's question.

"Now, how many of you have needed to do so against anything larger than a human?" Azura asked.

Pretty much nobody (except for Iris) raised their hand.

"You relied on your weapons to fight against the Creatures of Grimm. This brings me to my point. Even if hand-to-hand knowledge is important, very much so, you will most likely be using a weapon of some sort to tackle the beasts that plague Remnant." Azura clicked a button on Tridangler, making the head glow. "My Tridangler serves as a spear, a harpoon, a rifle, and a light. While most of you probably aren't that versatile, you need to know how to care for your weapons, so they can serve you like mine does. Do you all clean them at least once a week?"

There were some scattered hands raised, but the majority of the class didn't.

"You're children who don't have to deal with the long stress of dealing with the hunt. For those who got their weapons as a gift from their families after getting accepted into Haven, I understand, I'm just like you kids. I didn't know how to care for my darling, and it constantly suffered from being plain unreliable. It was effective, sure, but the gun jammed and the harpoon wouldn't retract. The tines were dull, and it was always dirty. So, for the rest of class, I would like you all to clean up your weapons. Try to get the bloodstains off, clear out the barrels, sharpen the blades. Bring them back into tip-top condition."

* * *

After class ended, Team NERO and Team CMI_ (Viri was heading off to their next class without them) stayed in the classroom to talk to Azura.

"So, what did you think of my lecture?" Azura asked.

"It was... all over the place." Nera said. "I could not tell where you were going throughout it all, and your transitions between topics were best described as sloppy."

"Oh." Azura frowned. She thought she did really good. "I'll try harder next time."

"Your advice is really helpful though." Iris said. "I never even bothered with any maintenance on my weapons back when I was homeless."

"It's a miracle you could do anything back there." Carmin remarked. 

"How sturdy are those things?" Marigold wondered, before her Scroll went off. She answered the call.

"Yo, are you three comin'?" Viri asked. "Grimm Studies starts in six minutes!"

Team CMI_ sprinted out the door. Team NERO walked out a moment later, calmly heading out to their next class.

* * *

A couple days later, they had their next Weapons class with Azura teaching.

"A-and that's why you should always make sure that your weapon is-isn't loading- loaded!" Azura was shaking, feeling every stare her students were giving her. "Especially when- while cleaning them!"

The bell rang, and Azura practically jumped at the bell. "Cl-class dismissed! I hope you all do great on your other classes!"

The students filed out the room, concerned.

Team CMIE stuck around to help Azura. "Azura? You're... acting weird." Carmin said. "Are you okay?"

Azura sighed, calming down from the anxious wreck she was a few moments ago. "I don't deal with people very well. Crowds stress me out and strangers make me shiver. It's... it's just a thing I've always dealt with. I thought I could handle teaching, and... I'm already falling apart."

"Hey, nobody's perfect. I'm a thrill-seeker with no sense of self-preservation, Carmin has some antagonistic tendencies, and those two are a bit weird in their own ways." Marigold said. "Just, do your best, and don't think to hard on who's judging you, alright?"

* * *

The next time Team CMIE came to Azura's class, said teacher was a lot less anxious.

"So, kids, who can tell me what this is?" Azura asked, holding up a vial of red Dust.

"Dust?" Nera offered, confused to why Azura was asking.

" _Fire_ Dust?" Viri added.

Azura seemed to take a moment to process what the students said. "That's riiiight! This is Dust. Dusty Dust... the most powerful substance in the world. Fire, ice, lightnin', energy," She hiccuped. "All sortsa stuff. You kids prolly don't use much of the stuff. Most of you weren't exactly blessed with the resources Haven grants ya, like access to plenty of low quality Dust to practice with. I taped a bunch of Dust vials underneath your desks, so take 'em. Class dismissed." She left, walking (more like stumbling) out a side door.

"Anyone else catch something weird about Professor Aqua?" Viri asked. "Like, really weird?"

"I smelled something off." Iris said. The others gave her a look, and she just gestured to the top of her head (where her ears were beneath her disguise) to explain. "I can't place it, but it wasn't anything normal for humans."

"Faunus?" Marigold asked.

"Even weirder for the Faunus I knew."

"What should we do, Carmin?" Viri asked.

"Let's just focus on school work for now, alright? I still need to finish my essay on the Great Faunus War for Professor Ambrosia. How about this? If it gets worse next time, we talk to her about it?" Carmin suggested. "Sound cool with you guys?"

Marigold nodded. She couldn't shake the feeling that Azura really needed help.

* * *

Azura's next class ended up being held up, since said professor was nowhere to be found.

"We're on time, right?" Viri asked.

"Not unless everyone else got here late or early too." Carmin said. She checked her Scroll to make sure and as she thought, they were very much on time.

And then a side door was kicked open, a disheveled Azura stumbling in. Iris immediately recognized what the scent on her was. Alcohol. She thought Azura's smell from earlier was familiar, and no wonder. There were plenty of drunk idiots in Anima, and they were all easy marks.

"Hey kiiiids." she slurred. "You know who's a bitch? My ex-girlfriend!"

The rest of the class was Azura ranting about her ex. It was a very uncomfortable half-hour, especially by the end.

"Her hands were probably the only redeeming feature she had." Azura said.

Probably the only person who was actually listening, rather just disassociating in pure horror, was Viri. She was intently listening, legitimately taking notes about a drunken woman's rant about her ex-girlfriend. 

Carmin snapped out of her disgust (Azura gave some really uncomfortable details about things she rather not hear again) when she noticed Viri. "You're taking notes?" She whispered, utterly baffled.

"It's a lecture?" Viri pointed out. "A really weird one, but it's still a lecture. We're supposed to take notes in case this stuff comes up for a test."

"She's drunk."

Viri shrugged. "It's a lecture." She returned to taking notes. And doodling flowers.

Carmin sighed. Why did she even bother questioning the team's weirdo on anything?

The bell finally rang, bringing a merciful end to this hell of a class. Azura passed out part way through her sentence (nobody actually paid attention, distracted by the bell, but it was about musk), slumping onto her desk. The students started heading out, thankful this was the last class for today.

"Hey, Viri, you can go ahead and do whatever." Carmin said. "I think you get it."

Viri nodded sagely. "Trust me, I do." She walked out of the room, leaving the rest of her team alone with Azura.

Azura woke up a few minutes later, while Team CMI_ was trying to figure out what to do.

"Oh, hey girls..." she mumbled. She felt a headache, starting to sober up from drinking like a fish this morning. Of course her Aura had to kick in to filter it now.

"Azura... are you okay?" Marigold asked.

"What? I'm fine..."

"No, you're not." Carmin firmly stated. "No 'fine' person comes to the class they're supposed to be teaching completely drunk and rants about their ex for a hour!"

"Why were you even drinking?" Iris questioned. 

Azura sighed in annoyance. It was really too early for this. "I'm stressed, okay? It's just... I thought I could handle this. I thought, 'hey, maybe I could handle teaching! Not like you'll be watched and judged by a bunch of people!'" She sighed again, calming down. "It's just... I use booze to loosen up, so I'm not constantly anxious when off the job."

"And you define job as 'murdering Grimm'." Marigold guessed. 

The blue-haired Huntress nodded. "Yeah. Guess Crim's advice sorta backfired."

Carmin paused, realizing what Azura just said. "Wait, Crim? Like, black hair, red coat, has the air of a douchebag?"

"That's Crim. At least, the first two are him. Why do you ask?"

"He interrogated me after I got into a fight." Carmin explained. "And then that evening, Saffron was attacked by the killer."

"Where exactly are you from?" Azura asked. She hadn't even heard of Crim leaving Argus around that time, let alone interrogating anyone.

"Minatocho." Marigold answered. "It's... out of the way. Unless you're shipping things to and from Vale, you probably don't remember it."

"Another thing I'll have to question him once I finally track him down." Azura muttered. "You kids sit tight for now, okay? I need to do some digging."

"Wait, how do you know that asshole, anyway?" Carmin asked.

"We were on the same team when we went here." Azura explained, to the distant shocked gasp of a certain green-haired girl. "Miss Elm, you're allowed to be in here. If you feel spying is the best course of action, you can continue, but I'd prefer if you just stayed in here so you could contribute to the conversation."

Viri walked in, awkwardly fidgeting. "Sorry. It's just, I wanted to know why you guys know each other. And, it's a lot more entertaining than anything else I could be doing right now. So, what were you saying?"

"Oh! The team was me, Crim Granyon, Mocha Granyon, and Helia Dora. Together, we formed Team MCHA, led by Mocha. We were some of the best students here, at the time. Heck, we could've won the Vytal Festival. If I didn't have major stage fright."

"So, I heard you guys were talkin' about a killer?" Viri asked.

"Somebody killed my parents when I was nine, and then somebody who we believe is the same person tried to kill Saffron." Carmin explained.

"Huh. Try looking into Dian Olivia and Vert Olivia." Viri suggested. "They're pretty psycho."

"I'll... do some digging." Azura said. "Don't you kids have other things to do?"

"Studying can wait." Marigold said. "You have a problem."

"I do not.... not have a problem." 

"Just, promise me you'll stay sober until we figure out who the killer is." 

Azura smiled, nodding. She can do that. She _has_ to do that.


	16. Volume 2: SNBM - Painting the Town...

Team SNBM ended up overhearing Team RWBY's plans to investigate Torchwick, and decided to join them.

They gathered in RWBY's dorm (more space in there), ready to discuss the plan.

"So, what do we know about Torchwick?" Sylvia asked. "I'm aware he's a bad guy, and that's really it. And that Mauva has a weird, 'crush', on him." 

"I do not have a crush on him." Mauva stated. "I don't even like men that way. And if I were to be honest, Ren and Jaune are far better choices than him, given that they're not amoral assholes."

"Would you care to elaborate on that last part?" Weiss asked. "I'm know you two have a history, but it's clear you've abandoned him over a disagreement."

"'Disagreement' puts it lightly. He had broken his own code in our last job together, choosing to harm others who weren't interfering. He's working with someone, even if I don't know who."

"So we catch him and shake him down for information until we get our real target." Yang said, leaning back. "Doesn't seem that hard."

"He did manage to keep Mauva, Nepheli, Blake, and the other guy who's name escapes at bay for a while." Sylvia pointed out.

"Me and Mauva hadn't eaten in hours and I had just fought like twenty dudes a minute before." Nepheli said. "So, I think we've got a really real chance of catchin' him if we play our cards right. Weren't those storage containers SDC?"

"I can get information concerning them." Weiss said. "Any other robberies or the like."

"Oh, oh, can I come too?" Ruby asked.

"I am joining you two." Mauva stated, not even bothering to make it a request.

"Fine." Weiss said. "Just stay out of trouble."

"I can head downtown and see if my sources have anything on him." Yang said.

"I'll come with!" Sylvia said. "While I don't exactly know your 'sources', I _do_ know that having an extra bit of muscle around can't hurt here."

'I can come too if it's all right with you.' Beryl signed.

"And that leaves Blake and I to... see if the White Fang knows anything?" Nepheli suggested.

"My thoughts exactly!" A voice said, coming from the window. It was Sun Wukon, sitting on the windowsill.

"You know, standing on the windowsill like that isn't particularly impressive when we're on the first floor." Mauva pointed out. "Good morning."

"It's five o'clock." Sun's friend, Neptune said. He was standing outside, right outside Team RWBY's window.

"Let me guess, you two want to help too?" Sylvia asked.

"You got it." Sun said. "That jerk's up to something, and I want to know what. I can help with that White Fang thing."

"You two heard everything, didn't you?" Blake asked.

Neptune nodded. "I guess I can help out Yang?"

Yang shrugged.

* * *

Beryl stared at the transport she and Sylvia were going to be taking to come along with Yang. It was a silver scooter, plugged into a socket on the wall of the garage they were in.

"Yeah, yeah, make fun of it all you want." Sylvia said.

'But I haven't even done anything.' Beryl signed.

"Well, everyone makes fun of it. Carmin and Nera bought it for me as a reward for getting into Beacon, even if this was not what I was asking for at all." Sylvia sighed. "At least it's an electric scooter, so I can charge it with my Semblance. And I had enough time to soup it up."

'I think it's kind of neat.' Beryl signed, smiling. 'Strong, but doesn't look it.'

"Kinda like you, now that I think about it." Sylvia said. "You're the smallest person over the age of ten I've ever seen, but I'm pretty sure you could throw a car if you felt like it." 

Beryl remained silent, thinking. Yang walked in, checking in on them. "We're ready on my end-" And then she saw Sylvia's ride. "Nice scooter."

"Of course you'd make fun of it. Guarantee you my scooter's faster than whatever you're driving."

Yang smirked. "You're on."

* * *

Ruby marveled at Vale's CCT tower, the mission officially on. 

"It's truly beautiful, isn't it?" Mauva said. "I always walked past it before I enrolled in Beacon, and even now it's a sight to behold."

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss remarked.

"Wasn't that one the first?" Ruby asked.

Weiss nodded. "After the Great War, Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit system as a way for the kingdoms to communicate with one another."

"And now we use it to look at cat videos." Mauva added.

"Which we could have done from the library. At school." Weiss said.

"Well, at least we're out in Vale in case the others need us. And Ruby gets to see the sights." 

Ruby pulled out her Scroll, getting ready to take a photo. Only to damn near throw the thing in her excitement, where it landed at the feet of a familiar face.

"You dropped this." Penny said, handing it back to Ruby.

"Salutations, Penny." Mauva said, respectfully bowing. Given Penny saved her butt back at the docks, it only felt fair to give her the special treatment. "How has it been since we last met?"

"I do not know what you are talking about." Penny slowly said, before hiccuping.

Ruby stared at her, confused.

"Weiss, go inside and take care of business." Mauva stated. "We have some catching up to do."

Weiss walked into the CCT tower, leaving the three of them on their own.

Once Weiss was gone, Ruby was the first to speak. "Penny, where were you?" She questioned. "After the fight at the docks, you just up and vanished! It's been weeks!"

"I, uh, there seems to be a misunderstanding." Penny said, before starting to walk away. Ruby and Mauva followed, wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery. 

"Penny, we only wish to help you." Mauva said. "I don't know what's going on, but I know that Torchwick and his people are up to something. Something big. And... you're a target too. So is the rest of both my and Ruby's teams. We're all at risk, and we need to put up a united front."

"So please, please tell us what's going on." Ruby said.

Penny scanned the surroundings, before leaning toward her friends. "It isn't safe to talk here."

* * *

Walking down the street a fair distance away, Mauva and Ruby continued their conversation with Penny.

"I really wish I could help you two, but I'm afraid I don't know anything about those men." Penny said.

"That answers one question." Mauva said. "But, what happened to you after the fight with Torchwick's men?"

"Were you kidnapped?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that." Penny said.

"Then, where exactly did you go?" Mauva asked.

Penny sighed. "I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me to not venture out too far but..." She paused. "You have to understand, my father loves me very much; he just worries a lot."

"Trust me, I know that feeling." Ruby muttered. "But, why didn't you tell us you were okay?"

"I... was asked not talk to you. Or Sylvia. Or Mauva. Or Blake. Anybody, really."

"Your father was that upset?" Mauva asked.

"No, it wasn't my father-"

Before Penny could elaborate any further, speakers went off from the nearby plaza. It was a hologram of General Ironwood, giving an announcement regarding his upcoming security robots. And powerful ones to boot. Mauva was actually a tad excited to test her skills against one, given her track record with previous models (never even been hit by anything less complex than a giant death bot).

Ruby, on the other hand, was more interested in the Atlesian Paladin mecha suit Ironwood followed up with. 

Penny bit her lip, as two armored soldiers handling security for the announcement noticed her. "We should go." And then Penny just plain bolted, running away as fast as she could.

Which broke the two out of their weapon-induced awe, and caused them to notice why Penny was running. Ruby and Mauva activated their Semblances to give chase, catching up with her in short order. The soldiers pursued.

During the chase, Ruby used her Semblance to give Penny a boost and ended up finding out that Penny was astonishingly heavy. She didn't really notice last time, being more fueled on the adrenaline of one of her teammates being in danger that gave her the strength to carry Penny and Sylvia. Regardless, the strain from Penny's weight caused Ruby to crash and land in the street. Where a truck was driving, about to run her over.

Before Mauva even had the chance to even think about moving in to help, Penny leapt into action, jumping in front of the truck.

And stopping it with her bare hands, the truck being lifted up as it hit an effectively immovable force. Mauva's brain immediately began trying to piece together how Penny did that. A strength Semblance perhaps?

Once things settled down and they moved to an alleyway out of sight, Penny explained it to them in simple terms. She showed them her damaged palms, which revealed metal beneath her skin.

Mauva instantly understood. "You're an android."

Penny solemnly nodded. "I am the first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura." She turned away, looking down. "I'm not real..."

Ruby walked around to Penny's front, grabbing her hand. "Of course you're real! Having nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts doesn't make you any less real than me or Mauva."

Penny remained silent for several seconds. "You two are taking this extraordinarily well."

Mauva adjusted her glasses. "You're not like those robots Ironwood was demonstrating. You have a heart and soul, more than some flesh and blood humans. I can feel it."

Penny pulled them both in for a hug (using Floating Array to drag Mauva into arm's reach), "You're the best friends I could ever ask for!"

"I can see why your father would want to protect a delicate flower like you!" Ruby squeaked out.

Penny let go of them. "Oh, he's very sweet! My father is the one who built me! I'm certain you would love him!"

"A man capable of creating someone as advanced as you is a man I would very much love to meet." Mauva stated. "Did he build you all by himself?"

"Almost. He had some help from Mister Ironwood!" Penny explained.

Ruby quickly put two and two together. "Wait... is that why those soldiers are after you?" She asked.

Penny nodded. "They're here to protect me. One day, it's going to be _my_ job to save the world. But I still have a lot left to learn, so that's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what the world I'm supposed to save is like. And maybe test my capabilities in the tournament."

"I'm curious. Save the world from what, exactly?" Mauva questioned. While Torchwick and his allies were threats, they couldn't have been the reason why an extremely advanced android capable of battling with even the strongest of Grimm would be built. Right?

"Check down here!" A soldier said, nearing their location.

Penny reacted instantly, picking the two up and throwing them into a nearby (thankfully empty) dumpster. "Please, don't tell anybody about what we talked about." She requested, before closing the dumpster's lid.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Vale, Sylvia and Yang's race came to a close as they skidded to a stop in front of a nightclub.

"I win!" Yang cheered.

Sylvia sighed. "At least my ride doesn't run out of gas. I bet I could beat you on the way back."

"You're on." Yang said, smirking.

"Or we could, not?" Neptune suggested. His hairdo was a mess, which he quickly fixed in a matter of moments.

Beryl, while not quite as much of a mess as Neptune was, still glared at Sylvia. 'I have to agree with Neptune. I had to use my Semblance to keep on the scooter.'

"Can't you bench like, fifteen of me?" Sylvia pointed out.

'Do you want me to snap your spine?'

"Fair enough. So, Yang, this is where your 'friend' stays?" Sylvia asked.

Yang nodded. "Let me take the lead."

Yang taking the lead quickly lead to the four having an actual armory pointed at them from the thugs in the club.

"Miss Malachite might have been a bit harsh, but she never had her goons point every gun in Remnant at me." Sylvia remarked.

Junior, already annoyed with Yang's return and walking over to deal with her, froze up upon hearing that name. "You work with Lil' Miss Malachite?"

Sylvia shrugged. "A few odd jobs. We had an agreement that I only did the less illegal stuff and I'd do it for cheaper than normal. So, you're Yang's friend?"

"Unfortunately." Junior said. "Blondie, why are you here?"

"You still owe me a drink." Yang said, dragging the man to the bar. 

* * *

Elsewhere, Nepheli, Blake, and Sun were busy with their part of the job. They saw a Faunus ushering in more of his kind into a building, all of them wearing Grimm masks.

They went inside, donning masks like the others to disguise themselves. It should work, as long as nobody recognized them for their animal traits.

"I don't get it." Sun said. "Why hide who you are if you're doing the right thing?"

"While I've never been a part of the White Fang, I do get the idea." Nepheli said. "We're treated like monsters by humans, so it only fits to in turn don the masks of such creatures."

"Dark."

"So was the man who thought the idea up." Blake remarked, as they headed further inside.

To find Roman Torchwick as the keynote speaker of the event. And alongside him was his trusted sidekick, Neopolitan. Plus a pair of White Fang lieutenants. One was a man, with a trait that couldn't be easily discerned from a glance. The other was a woman, with the green scales of a snake.

During his speech, he revealed that he had somehow managed to obtain an Atlesian Paladin.

"What is that thing?" Nepheli quietly questioned.

"How did he even get that?" Blake wondered.

* * *

"I don't know!" Junior said, slamming his glass down onto the bar.

Beryl glared at him, putting a hand on her axe. Junior instantly understood what she meant, and continued talking.

"I haven't seen him, let alone talked to him, since the night she," He gestured towards Yang. "Came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. _Back_." 

Sylvia sighed. "And let me guess, you also have zero clue where they might be?"

"What part of 'never came back' did you not understand?"

"Just confirming we're all on the same page here." Sylvia said. "Yang, you ready to pack it up and leave?"

Yang nodded. "We got everything we can. Let's just hope the others are having better luck."

Their Scrolls all went off, Blake and Nepheli calling them.

" _Big robot!_ " Nepheli shouted, before the sound of a wall being blasted apart resounded. " _Really big robot!_ "

They immediately got moving, ready to come help.

* * *

Everyone caught up to Blake, Nepheli, and Sun, seeing them being chased by Roman in the Atlesian Paladin. Nepheli had taken to the air with her Semblance, only to knocked down into an alleyway by nothing. If it wasn't for her spiraling fall and yelp of pain, they'd have assumed that Nepheli had simply landed for no reason. 

The rest of Team SNBM came over to make sure she was okay. Nepehli picked herself up, looking around with her swords drawn. "One of Torchwick's people is here!"

"It's Neo." Mauva stated. "Her Semblance lets her create illusions. Be on guard."

Beryl was the first to act, transforming Rhitta into its shotgun mode and firing a blast of buckshot at a fire escape. The illusion shattered like glass, revealing Neopolitan standing on the fire escape. Neo jumped down, landing across from Team SNBM.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" Sylvia remarked, drawing Nameless and turning into its spear mode. Range was going to be useful against someone who could attack without being seen. "Beryl! Thunder Egg!"

Upon hearing the call, Beryl took aim with Rhitta again as Sylvia shot off a lightning bolt at Neo. Beryl shot her own weapon, creating a sort of 'net' of lightning from the electricity arc from pellet to pellet. Neo shattered like glass upon getting hit, revealing herself as an illusion.

Mauva instantly started scanning the surroundings for the smallest of discrepancies. Nothing, as per usual. She shot a firework up, the explosion hailed chunks of the nearby building down. Neo's illusion broke, giving Nepheli the chance to land a couple slashes on her before Neo parried her third with her umbrella and vanishing again.

Beryl blocked a strike from behind, shifting Rhitta back into its axe form and swinging it at the fellow mute. Neo narrowly backflipped out of reach, only to have to jump to avoid Sylvia's slash from behind.

"Mauve Quartz!" Sylvia called. Nepheli dove after Neo with her wings, Mauva hooking onto her shoulder with her cane's grappling hook. Neo twisted in the air to dodge Nepheli's slash, only to get a jab to the stomach from Mauva, followed very shortly by a firework blast at point blank.

Neo vanished upon landing, keeping Team SNBM on their toes. Beryl shot off a couple shotgun blasts at nothing, just trying to flush out Neo from wherever she was hiding. Neo reappeared behind her, kicking her in the back. Before Neo could vanish again, Mauva hooked onto her neck with her cane.

"Long time no see." Mauva stated. Neo headbutted her, forcing her back, and spun around to jab her in the gut with her umbrella.

Neo barely managed to dodge as Beryl lunged at her for an axe slash. It nicked the back of her outfit, leaving a cut she'd have to mend later. Neo was almost impressed that these girls were actually managing to nearly threaten her.

Almost.

Neo decided to finally start taking things seriously, deflecting a lightning spear from Sylvia into the wall with her umbrella before closing the gap in an instant. Six strikes to various vital areas put Sylvia on the ground in a flash and left her incapacitated for the time being. Nepheli lunged, swinging her blades in an intentionally erratic pattern to try and catch Neo off-guard. Not that it mattered, as Neo just dodged and blocked every slash before countering with another series of blows to her pressure points. Nepheli would probably get back up faster than Sylvia (pressure points being in slightly different locations), but that would still keep her down long enough to deal with the rest.

Beryl finally managed to make direct physical contact, planting a glyph on Neo's arm. Before Neo could do anything, Beryl planted another glyph on the nearby wall and activated the pull at maximum strength. Neo slammed into the wall, pinned by her arm. Neo rolled her eyes, punching the glyph to break it and free herself long before Beryl had the chance to swing Rhitta.

Neo ducked under Beryl's attack, before doing the same she did to the others in short order. And all that was left was Mauva, who attempted to strike with a Semblance-empowered cane swing that only hit Neo's umbrella. Neo knocked her onto her back, planting a foot on Mauva's stomach so she wouldn't go anywhere. Neo pulled the blade out of her umbrella, ready to finally tie up one loose end.

And then the sound of an explosion caused her to stop. Neo vanished once more, leaving Team SNBM in shock.

"We got our butts kicked." Nepheli bluntly stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious, the pairing names/team attacks of Team SNBM are:  
> Sylvia/Beryl: Thunder Egg (a kind of geode-type rock)  
> Nepheli/Mauva: Mauve Quartz (Nepheline is a quartz; which are used in computers)  
> Sylvia/Nepheli: Anvil (a mature thunderstorm cloud)  
> Sylvia/Mauva: Overclock (which usually also includes increasing operating voltage to keep up with the strain)  
> Nepheli/Beryl: Opal (a gemstone which can have a rainbow hue)  
> Beryl/Mauva: Circuit Board (circuit boards are green)


	17. Volume 2: CMIE - Budding Friendship

Iris sat on her bed, reading a book on Faunus rights in recent years. Given how little she actually knows, it made sense to do some research on the subject.

"'And two years ago, pressure from the other kingdoms finally caused Atlas to crack down on Faunus slavery. The Schnee Dust Company released what's believed to be all of their slaves a month later.'" She snorted. "Like I believe that."

"Yo, Iris!" Viri called from the doorway. "I need some help with something."

Iris sighed, closing her book. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Marigold already said no. So, yeah, you don't have a choice."

"Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"Distract Team MIST."

"Who?"

"Y'know, Saffron's team?"

Iris stared at her. 

"The redhead that isn't Carmin?"

Iris still wasn't sure who Viri was talking about.

"The redhead _girl_ that isn't Carmin?"

"Oh, her!"

"Yes, her. Team MIST's in the library, studying, so just kinda keep them away from their dorm for the next hour or so." Viri said, running off. "Just talk to them or something!"

* * *

Iris went out to the library, where she found a group of four sitting at the table. She noticed Saffron being among them.

"Hi, Saffron." Iris said. "Who're your friends?"

Saffron looked up from her book (one on engineering), taking a moment to realize who was talking to her. "Hi, Purply!" She cheerfully said.

"What does everyone keep calling me that?" Iris wondered. "So, who're your teammates?"

One of said teammates stood up from her chair. She was fairly pale, with dark blue hair tied into an offset ponytail (set to the left) and red eyes. She was wearing Haven Academy's uniform, with the minor addition of a single black fingerless glove on her right hand. "I'm Midnight Mallow." She said, bowing. "It's a pleasure to meet you! You're one of Carmin's teammates, right?"

Iris nodded.

"Saffron speaks very highly of her, and mentioned you and... Marigold?"

"That's my team." Iris said.

"I do wish to speak with the rest of them face to face." Midnight put a hand to her chin in thought. "I don't suppose you could introduce me?" 

Iris shrugged. "Maybe later?"

"That would be fine. Anyway, Ivy, Toro, would you two mind introducing yourselves?"

A girl with long dark green hair and matching eyes waved, leaning back in her chair. Like her friend, she was dressed in the Haven uniform, with a lengthened skirt. "I'm Ivy Royal. It's a pleasure to meet you."

An absolute giant of a man (roughly seven feet tall) bowed slightly. He was mostly bald, with a single bright red strand sticking in front of his face. "My name is Toro Del Rosso. It is, nice to meet you."

"H-hi." Iris weakly waved, overwhelmed. "I'm... Iris."

"So, uh... do you have any hobbies?" Saffron asked.

"I was homeless until literally a week ago." Iris stated. "So, petty theft and reading stolen books."

"How did you even get in here?" Ivy questioned. "I don't mean this in a disparaging way, but I doubt you got in here legitimately."

Iris shrugged. "Can't say."

Ivy sighed. "I suppose that makes sense. Saying you cheated your way into Haven while in Haven would be an awful idea."

"But could they _prove_ it?" Saffron wondered.

Iris shrugged again, before her Scroll went off. She checked it, getting a very simple text from Viri.

' _Help_ '

"I have to go." Iris stated, standing up and rushing off to Team MIST's dorm. MIST followed, wondering what Iris needed to do.

And that's how they found Viri, pinned underneath one of Team MIST's beds (Toro's, to be specific). "Help." She squeaked out.

"Like I thought." Midnight said, smiling. "I thought you were up to something, Iris. I'm going to guess that Viri bothered you until you gave in to pressure?" 

"More like she threatened to bother me until I gave in, so I just did it." Iris said. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize." Midnight said. "Toro, please get Viri out."

Toro flexed, causing her shirt to explode and reveal his toned muscles, and then picked up his bed to allow Viri to crawl out from under it.

"I have to ask: What were you planning to do?" Ivy asked.

"I was trying to stack all your beds on top of each other." Viri explained. "Turns out that I'm not that strong, and Toro's bed definitely can't handle his own weight. It snapped when I tried to pick the thing up." She paused. "I'll be sure to _rest_ easy that now that you helped me out."

There was a silence, as everyone took in Viri's awful pun. "Permission to strike?" Ivy asked.

Midnight spent a couple seconds, thinking. "Granted."

And that was how Carmin and Marigold found Iris and Viri hiding in the rafters of a training room, while Ivy was searching for them for 'disciplinary reasons'. With her weapon (a pair of spiked gauntlets called Blood Cestus) equipped. 

* * *

After diffusing the situation, Team CMIE gathered back in their dorm.

"So... what are you gonna say?" Viri asked.

"I'm impressed." Carmin stated. "You managed to tick off Ivy, of all people."

"You two know each other?" Iris asked.

"I sit next to her at some of our classes. She's the most prim and proper person I've ever met."

"And you managed to get her to start screaming about how she will, and I quote, 'murder you so hard that your next eighteen reincarnations will all die from the aftershock before you get the chance to return to this world'." Marigold said. 

"Wait, she said _that_?" Viri questioned. "I didn't quite make that out between the screams of rage."

"How did you even do that?" Carmin asked.

"She said a pun." Iris stated. "A really bad one."

Carmin sighed. "Of course. Please don't say those around her anymore, okay?"

"No promises!"

Azura barged into their room immediately afterward. "Oh, uh, sorry. Did I come in at a bad time?" She asked.

"Not at all." Carmin said, turning around to face the blue-haired Huntress. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I-I managed to track down where Dian is believed to be hiding out." Azura said. "I think she's hidden out in a warehouse, way down near the base of the mountains."

"That's- how did you figure that one out, Professor?" Marigold asked.

"I just spent last night tracking arrest records and figured that the one place where there were zero would be the most likely location."

"That's Mom for ya." Viri said. "She prolly killed any cops that showed up long before they could actually arrest anybody."

Everyone stared at her, horrified. The way she talked about her mother's actions was so... calm. Like Dian does worse on a regular basis.

"Well, let's get ready to investigate her." Carmin said. "Either she's the person who killed my parents, or she knows who did. And if she's not... Well, it gets one monster off the streets."

"Just... give me a chance to talk to her, alright?" Viri requested. "I- I just want to get a little bit of closure before it all ends."

Marigold nodded. "Don't worry. You'll get plenty of time before we waste her."

"I'm surprised." Carmin remarked. "I thought you'd be against this."

"I am. But, I know you all are going to fight regardless. So... I might as well come along to make sure you don't get yourselves killed."

"Our thoughts exactly." Nera said, standing in the open doorway. Her team, along with Team MIST, was standing behind her. "We're coming with to help as well. I was part of the original 'hunt down the person who killed Carmin's parents' squad after all."

"And she tried to kill me." Saffron added. "So, that jerk needs to pay."

"Then it's settled." Carmin said. "Let's kick that monster's ass!"


	18. Volume 2: SNBM - Dance Dance Infiltration

The mission to go out and catch Torchwick was an effective bust. While they learned some interesting information (apparently there was a new base for Torchwick's people in the southeast), they didn't actually catch Torchwick or any of his accomplices. And, if Sylvia were to be perfectly honest, they were lucky to even survive.

But all that was behind them for the time being. For now, until they can figure out more, the orders Sylvia gave her team was to ignore all that for now.

Which was how she ended up sparring with Mercury Black, one of Cinder's friends. 

Sylvia twirled Nameless around, keeping it in sword mode. Given Mercury's apparent fighting style (custom greaves like his implied he preferred kicks), speed was going to be at a premium.

"Begin!" Gylnda called. Mercury instantly closed the distance between them with a gunshot from his greaves, confirming what Sylvia expected. She slammed her palm into the ground, creating a wall of lightning for a moment that forced Mercury to have to go around it. Exactly what Sylvia wanted, as she brought up Nameless to block his kick and channel electricity through the blade to shock him.

He sprung off, his stance slightly off. Sylvia couldn't place what would have caused it, given that her lightning shouldn't have caused that kind of nerve damage. And the feedback she got was... wrong. She shook her head, deciding it didn't matter. She lunged, swinging her blade for Mercury's side.

He ducked under her first slash, and then jumped over the second and kicked her in the face. It was clear he was just playing with her, wanting to see how capable she was rather than to test his own skills. Sylvia let out a blast of lightning in all directions, just trying to force Mercury to think twice about getting in close again.

Sylvia kept up the pressure, with slash after slash that Mercury narrowly kept out of the way of. And then she suddenly brought Nameless into spear mode, extending her reach just in time to nail him in the side with one hard swing. Mercury dug his heel into the ground to keep himself from sliding too far, sidestepping a blast of lightning from the silver-haired girl before closing the distance again and driving his boot into her stomach. A gunshot forced her back, taking chunk of her Aura with it.

"I forfeit." Mercury said, walking off.

"Oh, come on!" Sylvia yelled. "I finally start getting into it, and then you decide to abandon the fight?! Get back here!"

Beryl ran over to her, pulling Sylvia away before she could try to attack Mercury while his back was turned.

* * *

Mercury returned to his team's dorm to relay the information he gathered.

"Sylvia won't be a problem." He stated. "While she's strong, that's all she really has. Her battle plan is to swing her weapon at her target and blast them if they get to far away with little variation. And she started having a tantrum when I left, so... there's that."

Cinder smiled, checking off Sylvia's name on her Scroll. The list included the name of every single girl that was at Beacon Academy.

* * *

Beryl set down a speaker bigger than her in the Beacon ballroom, helping to set up for the Beacon Dance alongside Team RWBY, Sylvia, and Nepheli.

"I still want to know how you're that strong." Sylvia said.

Beryl shrugged. 'Genetics. My mother was as freakishly strong as I am.'

"And now you're the DJ for the party." Nepheli remarked. "My aunt's really moving up in the world." She wiped away a tear in her eye.

'I'm younger than you.'

"So? Anyway, any word on where Mauva is? I have a question for her."

"If you're going to ask her out for the dance, she's not coming." Sun said, walking in. "I walked past her earlier, mentioned Blake didn't want to go to the dance, and Mauva pretty much said the same thing."

Nepheli sighed. "Well, looks like I'll have to step in to help. Sylvia, Beryl, don't worry about Mauva. She's going to be going, whether she likes it or not."

"Just don't break any body parts!" Sylvia shouted, as the lizard Faunus walked out. Yang followed after her, looking for Blake. The silverette sighed. "Well, that takes care of that."

Beryl tugged on Sylvia's arm to grab her attention.

"Hey. You... want something?" Sylvia asked.

'I... Could you...' Beryl's hand movements were slow and shaky, obviously nervous. Not that Sylvia noticed, clearly looking like she had somewhere else to be. 'Never mind.' Beryl turned away, returning to getting things set up.

* * *

Nepheli found Mauva in short order, and physically dragged her to an empty classroom. Given that Mauva's barely slept or eaten since the incident with Roman Torchwick, it was really easy.

"I'm not going to the dance." Mauva stated. "I don't see the point in partying while Roman's master continues their plans."

"My blood parents abandoned me when I was six." Nepheli admitted.

Mauva stared at her, caught off guard by that statement. 

"I'm not a normal Faunus. My father was a human," Nepheli continued, moving her tail so it was in plain view for Mauva. "And my mother was a Faunus. Life isn't great for Faunus, but a half-blooded one like me? Nobody wanted me. Not my parents; who told me that they were leaving because I was an abomination, not the White Fang; who wanted me dead for having human blood, and not any humans I saw; who saw my animal traits as nothing more than a curse."

"I'm sorry." Mauva quietly said. "But, what does this have to do with Roman?"

"I've been trying to find my biological parents for a very long time. Basically ever since they left. While I doubt they're still together, I also doubt they're dead. I came really, really, really close to finding them. Six years ago."

Mauva nodded, allowing her partner to continue.

"I had heard from a person I knew where they might've been. It was a long trip, even with my Semblance, but I went on it anyway. It didn't matter what was in my way."

"Did you find them?"

"Unfortunately. I came to an abandoned temple of some dead religion, where I found the both of them." Nepheli said. "They were leading some freaky death cult around some 'Goddess of the Grimm', or somethin' crazy like that. And they immediately tried to murder me as a sacrifice to their goddess."

Mauva stared at her, horrified. She never knew her parents, and that's still a better relationship than whatever Nepheli had going on.

"My thoughts exactly. Anyway, it's not like I could really fight back. I was an eleven year old that had just exhausted herself on the journey and had like, no battle experience that wasn't a street fight. If Iris and Viri didn't show up when they did, I woulda been a goner."

Mauva remained silent, trying to figure out what to say.

"And even now, I still want to see and talk to them properly." Nepheli concluded.

"So, are you saying that occasionally stopping is what I should do?" Mauva asked. "For someone with a... simple thought process-"

"Are you calling me stupid?"

Mauva shrugged. "More like, carefree. Regardless, you spent a lot of time to come to that conclusion."

"Would you have followed me advice if I didn't?"

"Oh, _heavens_ no. I would have simply ignored you and left." Mauva bluntly said. "So, I guess I'm going to the dance whether I like it or not?"

"Pretty much. And, I was kind of hoping you'd be my... date?" Nepheli asked.

"I... I actually have someone else I'd like to speak with first. It's not that you're inferior by any stretch of the imagination-"

"Just go to her." Nepheli said, shooing her partner away. "If your heart's saying that you should ask Ruby out first, just do it!"

"How did you... Never mind." Mauva ran off, looking for the scythe-wielding girl.

* * *

Sylvia found who she was looking for quickly. Jaune Arc, holding flowers meant for Weiss. And then she saw Weiss, asking Neptune out.

Our silver-haired hero turned away, choosing to leave instead of bothering Jaune. It didn't feel right to catch him on the effective rebound like this.

* * *

Mauva eventually found Ruby, talking to Penny in the ballroom. A couple soldiers were behind Penny.

"I was wondering." Penny said. "Would you- would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Mauva left, not bothering to listen as Ruby enthusiastically accepted Penny's proposal.

She pulled out her Scroll, calling Nepheli. "Ruby is going with Penny."

" _I guess you're gong with me then. Go get some sleep._ " Nepheli ordered. " _It'd be kinda bad if my partner could barely stay conscious on the dance floor._ " 

* * *

That night, the Beacon Dance was on.

And Mauva was, much to Nepheli's annoyance, late. Mauva had texted the Faunus saying she'd be a bit and to go on ahead without her.

Nepheli sighed. She was wearing a black tuxedo (it was easier to tailor a tail hole in pants than in a dress), and her hair was tied up into a cleanly ponytail. "C'mon, Mauva... Where are you?"

The Faunus felt a hat being tossed onto her head, and instantly spun around to see Mauva. Her partner was dressed in a gorgeous black dress that sparkled, hugging her figure and showing off every curve her body had. She had ditched the glasses, choosing to wear contacts for tonight.

Nepheli stared, awestruck. She stammered and stuttered, trying to come up with the words to describe her feelings.

"Apologies." Mauva said. "Getting a tailor that could work fast enough to make this was a bit of a pain."

" _It was well worth it_..." Nepheli muttered.

"I was hoping that you'd like it. You deserve to have me looking my best."

Sylvia whistled, standing behind Nepheli. She was wearing a dark blue dress, with a armored chestplate. "I'll say. It's good to have you."

"I would like to ask why you're wearing armor." Mauva stated.

"My Aunt Marigold picked out my outfit." Sylvia explained. "I think it looks cool."

"Whatever you say..." Nepheli mumbled, turning away to continue ogling her partner.

"I assume you also don't have a date?" Mauva asked.

Sylvia nodded. "The only one I had my eyes on was, not an option."

"You're talking about Jaune."

"Wait, you knew?"

"The list of people it could be is incredibly small." Mauva stated, reaching up to adjust her glasses only to remember they weren't there. "Unless Nora was suddenly okay with the idea of another woman dating her partner,"

"I don't think that's physically _possible_." Sylvia remarked.

"Indeed. That leaves either Jaune or Mercury."

"Why that asshole?"

"Only man in Beacon that I'm aware of that doesn't have the IQ of meat left."

Sylvia sighed. "Well, you got that right. Still, that jerk would probably start up a relationship and leave me hanging right at the very worst possible moment."

Sylvia's Scroll chimed, letting her know that somebody texted her. It was from Beryl. "'And he'd break up with you via text message at that.'" She read aloud.

Beryl walked up to them, wearing a cutesy light green dress with a frilly hem on the skirt. Compared to the slightly more risqué affairs Sylvia and Mauva were wearing, it was definitely the most conservative thing anybody there was dressed in. Nepheli guessed that Iris probably picked it out for her.

"I'm surprised." Sylvia said. "I thought you'd be stuck with those turntable thingies."

'I set it up so I can handle it remotely with my Scroll.' Beryl signed. 'Didn't want to miss out on all the fun.'

"Well, let's have fun!" Sylvia declared. "I'm ordering it, as team leader."

"You don't sound nearly as cool as you think." Mauva stated.

Sylvia glared at her.

* * *

Sylvia's method of having fun ended up being to just sit by the punch bowl and watch everyone else (and make sure nobody tried to mess with the punch).

"I didn't know people watching was a hobby of yours." Ozpin remarked, standing next to her. Sylvia almost jumped in surprise. She was usually pretty good at picking up on somebody's presence when they were approaching her.

"Not usually. Honestly, if wasn't for the rest of my team going, I probably would have stayed home since I don't have a date." Sylvia said, swirling her glass of punch around.

"You're referring to Jaune Arc, correct?"

"I'm surprised. Didn't really think you'd be keeping track of who's interested in who. Or that you figured out I'm interested in Jaune."

"After several members of the faculty started a betting pool on student relationships, my hand was forced. If only so nobody tried to force students together." Ozpin said. "And the list of men you-"

"Would be interested in is short, Mauva already said that."

"And you haven't shown any romantic interest in women."

Sylvia shrugged. "Never gave it much thought."

Ozpin silently nodded in understanding, before walking away. Sylvia noticed Jaune and Ruby having a conversation about something, before Jaune walked away. Sylvia decided to head to the balcony, looking out into the city to avoid any emotional difficulties.

Sylvia sensed Ruby join her. "Something got you down too?" Sylvia asked.

"Nope." Ruby said. "Just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Let me guess, you also know that I'm interested in Jaune, and didn't even try to ask him out."

Ruby shook her head.

"At least somebody doesn't know. How's it been with you and Penny, by the way?"

Ruby pointed back inside, where Penny was standing off in her own little corner with several armed guards flanking her.

"I think that's somehow worse than not having a date at all." Sylvia said, looking out into the distance. She saw somebody running across the rooftops, heading towards... the CCT Tower. "Although, that could make up for it."

She smiled. Getting engaged in some violence is exactly the kind of stress relief she's been wanting all day.

* * *

Cinder easily dispatched the outside guards without them even seeing her, heading in to put her plans into action.

Two more guards inside, who noticed her before she could take care of them. That was a mistake. Cinder created her swords, slicing through them in moments.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Beacon, Jaune had returned from a talk with Neptune.

Wearing a dress. Honestly, Beryl was impressed. He was rocking that thing, managing to make it look good on him. Nora sent her text, telling her that 'it's time'.

Beryl rolled her eyes, playing the track Nora had requested for this moment.

[(Shine - RWBY OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siHx0Yo-mqE)

Right on cue, Team JNPR did a perfectly synchronized dance together. It was impressive, especially for something that was done in the spur of the moment (as far as Beryl was aware).

Beryl decided now was going to be the time she'd make her move. She was going to ask Sylvia to dance with her, no matter what.

Only to check her Scroll's location and realize she was in Vale itself. The CCT Tower, specifically.

What were they doing there?

* * *

In the top floor of the CCT Tower, the silver-eyed Huntresses found the intruder.

Sylvia and Ruby jumped to the side, dodging a volley of glass shards from Cinder (even if they didn't recognize her in the fairly dark conditions). Sylvia was the first to close the distance, swinging Nameless with her aggression. Cinder created another pair of swords, deflecting each and every slash.

Ruby rushed in behind Cinder, ready to slice her opponent with Crescent Rose. Cinder jumped over the attack, forcing Sylvia to duck under the scythe and then quickly dodge an arrow from Cinder (who had combined her blades into a bow).

Sylvia cursed under her breath, rushing in again. She couldn't really use her Semblance in here without risking the destruction of the equipment, something her enemy didn't seem to be worried about. She really wished Nepheli or Yang was here right about now. They were great in close combat.

A different student showed up instead, punching Cinder while she was distracted dodging Sylvia's attacks. Beryl smirked. 'I don't need Rhitta to take care of you.' She signed.

And then General Ironwood showed up, only making matters worse for Cinder.

Cinder decided now was probably time to get going. While she could probably beat all of them if she felt like it, it wasn't part of the plan. She let loose with a volley of glass shards, before jumping out the window to escape.

The four she left behind were left with the image of a black queen on one of the computer screens in the room.


	19. Volume 2: CMIE - A Monster

Azura sighed, checking a flask she kept in her Huntress outfit. While she had no plans of drinking during the mission, it was a source of liquid water for her Semblance. "Half-full..." She muttered.

"You're sure this is the place?" Carmin asked, keeping watch on the warehouse Dian was supposedly holed up in from their vantage point atop a building across the street. They were near the base of the mountains Mistral was located on, the seediest part of the city. "We've been sitting here for a good thirty minutes and I haven't spotted even a little bit of life."

"Wait, you can't see the guys watching us from inside?" Viri asked.

"There are people in there?"

"Well, yeah. My mom likes having minions to boss around for no reason. And to murder if things don't go her way."

"Is there anything your mother does that isn't horrible?" Nera questioned.

"I'm going to take a guess and say it's something incredibly minor compared her crimes." Ivy added. She was dressed in her Huntress outfit, a green ballgown with a slit in the skirt for mobility.

Viri started thinking. "I mean, she had a husband, but that was only so she could have a child. So, no love there, and I don't consider her birthin' me to be all the great."

Her teammates stared at her, concerned.

Viri just stayed silent, returning her focus to the warehouse. She spotted the people inside setting something up. The angle meant she could only see a little bit of the device, which was painted a stark white. Probably Atlesian in origin, but being unable to see it directly made it hard to figure that out.

Iris got up, drawing her blades. "Something's not right."

The others did the same, drawing their weapons. Something pierced through the roof of the warehouse, flying up into the air.

Viri understood what it was, shooting it out of the air without any trouble. It was a mortar shell, shot out of the thing the people inside were working on. It exploded in the sky in a starburst of Fire Dust.

"Let get moving." Carmin stated, jumping down from the vantage point and running towards the warehouse. The others followed after her, as the warehouse doors opened up to allow Dian's men to come out. And there was a lot of them.

Ivy activated her Semblance, punching the ground to cause spikes of rock to erupt from the ground and scatter the enemies. "You all go on ahead! We've got them!"

Midnight (wearing dark blue samurai armor with a black bodysuit underneath) drew one of her knives (part of a set of seven) throwing it at a thug. "My thoughts exactly, Ivy. We have this handled! NERO, CMIE, Professor Aqua, I trust you can do the same with those ahead!"

Toro flexed, showing off his muscles some more as Dian's men attempted to strike him. All he was wearing a blue pants and combat boots. Which meant that Dian's men directly hit his flesh and watched in horror as their weapons broke on his skin. He drew his weapon of choice, a pair of enormous saws with built-in flamethrowers.

Carmin nodded in understanding, grabbing onto Marigold (who was running next to her). Marigold warped them both ahead into the warehouse. Iris disguised herself as one of Dian's men and just snuck past, Viri vaulted over with her weapon, and Team NERO (as well as Azura) just brute-forced their way through.

The warehouse itself was more or less empty. A couple crates blocked some of the windows, the mortar sitting in the middle, and a tunnel leading underground.

"Gee, I _wonder_ where Dian could possibly be." Carmin and Robin sarcastically remarked at the same time. And then fistbumped.

"Behave yourselves, children." Nera said. "We need to be very careful from this point onward."

Of course, Orcha and Viri ran on ahead purely to annoy Nera. The others gave chase, sprinting through the tunnels towards what they hoped was their goal.

* * *

They came into a large chamber filled with crates, where they encountered their first piece of resistance since they went down.

A young woman (maybe twenty-six at the oldest), dressed in a plain suit and tie. Well, it would be plain if wasn't for the fact that it was bright purple.The woman herself had brown hair with lavender highlights tied up into a bun, purple eyes, and rather small frame (she was 5'1" in heels). 

"Auntie Lavender?" Viri asked. "I'm surprised you'd be here."

"Apologies. Your mother had explicitly requested my assistance in keeping part of your group occupied. While I don't usually like to engage myself in her activities, her request had a certain _weight_ to it that I couldn't refuse." Lavender said. "For the rest of you kids, I am Lavender Evergreen, Viri's paternal aunt. I will be the opponent of that group of four." She pointed at Team NERO, who immediately drew their weapons.

"Well, if you insist." Nera said, transforming Arsenal into a rapier. "Team CMIE, we will take care of things for the time being."

"Just don't get too ahead of yourselves!" Viri said. "She's actually a good person, unlike my parents! And a licensed Huntress!"

"Top of my class at Haven, thank you very much. Hello, Azura." Lavender said.

"We- uh, have to get going now." Azura said, running past Lavender. Team CMIE followed behind her, hoping that NERO could handle things. Well, except for Viri, who knew her aunt wasn't going to hurt them too badly.

"Well then. Let's begin." Lavender said, drawing her weapon of choice. It was a doubled-ended spear, that could be split into a tri-sectioned staff. "You all may make the first move."

Erin jumped up onto a crate nearby, taking aim with her rifle. Robin drew his weapons (a pair of bladed revolvers), keeping his sights trained on Lavender. Orcha looked to Nera, who simply nodded.

Orcha lunged, bringing out Hidden Thorn and swiping at Lavender, who blocked the strike with her weapon and thrusted it at Orcha in retort. Orcha brought up her buckler shield, narrowly diverting the attack and keeping her Semblance's charge. Lavender's Aura flared up, right before a blade burst out of the ground between her and Orcha, forcing the latter to step back to avoid being skewered.

Nera stepped in, doing a couple of quick thrusts with her rapier to keep Lavender off-balance. Lavender deflected both strikes, swinging her spear to counter. Only to instead get shot and forced back by Erin. Erin smirked, firing another shot that hit a blade that burst out of the ground. A second blade burst out of the crate Erin was standing on, narrowly missing her.

Robin took over where Erin left off, firing a couple shots from his revolvers to keep the pressure up. Lavender spun her spear to deflect the bullets, only to get slashed in the back by Orcha.

"Not bad. You four understand your roles and know how to cover each other's weaknesses." Lavender complimented, swinging her spear to force Orcha back. "But, I have been holding back. I will begin taking this seriously, to make sure you all are properly tested."

Nera gripped her weapon tighter. She didn't like this.

* * *

Further ahead, Team CMIE (plus Azura) arrived into an even larger chamber than the one Team NERO was fighting in. In the center of it was a mecha suit (a humanoid one with an atrociously bright green paint job).

And standing atop it was Dian Olivia. While Carmin hadn't paid much attention to her looks last time they saw each other, now she bothered to remember the woman before her. Dian's most notable trait was her height (measuring at 6'6"), and her piercing red eyes. Her hair was viridian, tied into a ponytail. She wore a dark green coat over a black undershirt and white trousers. Carmin also noticed her weapon of choice was a longsword, and that a quiver full of arrows rested on her back.

"So glad you could make it, kids." Dian said. "A punk, a fool, a fox, my own flesh and blood, and a coward have come to face me."

Viri nocked an arrow, aiming at her mother. "I'm giving you a chance, mom. If you stop being a monster, killing people for nothing more than fun, then we won't hurt you."

"But where's the fun in that?" Dian retorted, pointing her blade down at Viri. "Especially when a _good friend_ of Carmin's went through all the trouble of coming to see her?"

Carmin drew Sistrum. "Who are you talking about?" She asked.

To answer her question, a person dressed in all black came in through a secret passage. Nothing about her was identifiable (her clothing was a black bodysuit and a similarly dark helmet), besides being a female about Carmin's size. Which narrowed her possible identity to about a fifth of Anima's population.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dian said. "It's the person who killed your parents. And hurt your friend, Paprika or whatever."

The killer turned around, running away down a different tunnel leading upwards. "I'm going after her!" Carmin shouted, giving chase. Dian got into her mech, slamming a foot down to block Carmin's path. Or at least, try to. Marigold stepped in with a couple teleports to move herself and Carmin past Dian and onwards after the killer.

"I'll hold her off!" Viri stated, shooting an arrow at the mech's cockpit. It didn't actually do anything, but it got Dian's attention.

Iris wordlessly raised her swords in preparation for battle, standing by Viri's side.

"You kids stay safe!" Azura ordered, running after Carmin and Marigold.

Viri started to reconsider her decision to stay, staring up at the mech. She nocked another arrow, one with a red feather. Taking aim, she shot at the cockpit again, blasting the glass with a Fire Dust arrow. Dian growled in annoyance as the shattered glass bounced off her Aura, aiming the mech's missile launcher at her daughter. Needless to say, Viri got moving as Dian started firing. She flipped back, narrowly dodging the blast from one hitting the ground, and shot off another arrow to detonate another midair and make it destroy its brethren.

"Impressive." Dian said. "In the last eight years, you have significantly improved."

"Well, I learn from the best." Viri said. 

"Let's see if you can beat me then. If I remember correctly, you have never won a single spar against me."

Iris fired a couple shots with Orthrus at Dian, barely missing her. "Can we just fight? Sitting around talking isn't my idea of a good time." She said, before firing again.

"Fine. If you wish to _die_ so badly, then so be it." Dian turned her focus to Iris, aiming the mech's various armaments at the Faunus.

Iris suddenly regretted her decision, running from a hail of gunfire.

* * *

While chasing after the killer, Carmin, Marigold, and Azura ran into a familiar face. Crim Granyon stood in their path, letting the killer run past him.

"I'll take care of him!" Azura declared, skidding to a stop and drawing Tridangler.

"Carmin, don't make me regret this!" Marigold said, stopping alongside Azura. She pointed Clockwerk at Crim, unsheathing the blade with a click of the lever.

"I won't!" Carmin stated, using Sistrum's shotgun to boost herself over Crim and keep up with the killer. They both were gone from sight in short order, heading further onward.

Crim sighed. "You know, Azura, all you had to do was not dig deeper." He drew his weapon of choice, an enormous greatsword with a high-caliber pistol function. It was definitely a weapon for a man who wanted to overwhelm his opponents. "But, it seems you've left me with little options."

"What are you doing, Crim?" Azura questioned. She was shaking in her boots (or heels, as the case may be), anxious about fighting her former teammate and boss. "Working with murderers, hiding the truth, it's not like you."

"Neither is being a disobedient coward, but look where we are now." Crim retorted. "You used to just be a coward, but it seems you've changed for the worse."

"You seem to have done so too. The Crim I know fought for justice with all his heart. To make a peaceful world. That's what Team MCHA's entire goal was; to help the helpless."

"The plan has changed. If I have to ally myself with that girl to get things done, then so be it. Enough talk." Crim lunged at Azura, who blocked his opening overhead slash. 

Azura pushed him back, getting ready for battle. While she didn't want this, not at all, she had to do it. That look in Crim's eyes... it was like that of the Grimm. That of a monster.


	20. Volume 2: SNBM - Field Trip

The morning after Sylvia, Ruby, and Berl fought Cinder in the CCT Tower, Ozpin had called them up to his office to tell their side of the story to him, Glynda, and Ironwood.

'I only showed up at the tail end of the fight, so I can't tell you much.' Beryl signed.

Ozpin nodded in understanding. "Any bit of information is helpful."

"All I can really say for certain is that she's well trained." Sylvia said. "Twin swords, a bow, and crystal things..."

"I think they were glass." Ruby added. "Volcanic glass."

"Did she say anything before I showed up?" Ironwood asked.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, only for Sylvia to answer for her. "I think she said something about a hideout in the southeast. Nothing else though."

"Interesting. Anything else you can think of?" Ozpin asked. Ironwood gave the students a look of suspicion, but didn't press them.

Sylvia, Beryl, and Ruby all shook their heads.

"Understood. You all are dismissed. Do not say a word to anyone about what you told us."

Sylvia and Beryl had to force themselves to not smile at that choice of words.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Nepheli asked, as Sylvia and Beryl walked back into their dorm.

'We just finished telling them everything that happened at the CCT Tower." Sylvia signed. 'And then Ozpin told us to not say a word about it to anyone.'

"I'm astonished he chose those specific words." Mauva said. "He _knew_. He had to."

Beryl shrugged. 'Probably.'

"So, where do we go from here?" Nepheli asked. "Not like we can easily get to the 'southeast' to search for the White Fang base."

"All first-year students, please report to the amphitheater." Gylnda's voice rang out over the intercom.

"Well, there's your answer." Sylvia said.

* * *

In the amphitheater, Ozpin gave a lengthy speech about the Great War eighty years ago before informing the students that their next assignment was to shadow a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission.

"This is exactly what we were looking for!" Nepheli cheered. "All we have to do is find a mission that sends us to the southeast and then sneak off."

Mauva sighed. "You've gotten... laser-focused on stopping the White Fang."

"They want me dead, so I'm just returning the favor."

"Right, could you please explain that?" Sylvia asked.

Nepheli ignored her, running over to a holographic screen and searching for missions in the southeast.

There was one. A search and destroy mission that was unavailable for first year students. Which changed to being available, only to be taken by Team RWBY.

"Well, looks like we'll just have to trust Team RWBY can do it." Sylvia shrugged. "So, what do you girls think we should do?"

Beryl scrolled through the available missions, eventually settling on a search and destroy mission in the northwest.

"'Hunt down a large Grimm near some ruins that has been attacking travelers.'" Mauva read aloud. "How does that sound?"

Nepheli shrugged. "I guess it works. Wonder who we're gonna be shadowin'."

* * *

Team SNBM stared at their assigned Huntress in shock.

"Good morning, girls! Who's ready to show the Grimm what humans can do?" Professor Aqua asked, smiling. She was wearing her proper Huntress outfit instead of her usual teaching clothes, which was a bit of a surprise for the students standing before her. 

"You're a Huntress?" Sylvia questioned, baffled. She assumed Professor Aqua was just an engineer and not a full-fledged Huntress. 

"Thought I was just a pretty face?" Azura asked. "I nearly won the Vytal Festival, on my _first_ year."

The kids stared at her, still baffled.

"You kids do realize one of your members is able to throw cars while being less than five feet tall, right?" Azura pointed out.

Beryl shrugged. 'Fair enough.'

"So, are you all ready?"

Team SNBM quickly took stock of their supplies, and then nodded.

"Then let's get going! Those Grimm aren't going to slaughter themselves!"

* * *

"So, is there anything else we need to know?" Sylvia asked. They were on the airship, heading northwest towards an ancient city with a massive tower at the far end of it all.

Azura shrugged. "We're just here to kill the big Grimm around here. Nothing else has been reported, so we should be fine taking it out and heading home."

"That's good. I would like our first mission to go semi-smoothly." Mauva said.

"I mean, you kids have been fighting with criminals and the White Fang for about a month or two, so you all have had successful missions." 

They stared at her. "You knew?" Nepheli questioned.

"We all do. Trust me, you girls are not nearly as sneaky as you think you are."

"Well, if we're lucky, we won't be doing too much of that any more." Sylvia said, shrugging. "Team RWBY's off where we think the White Fang's hiding out."

Azura nodded in understanding.

* * *

They landed on the outskirts of the city a few minutes later, taking it all in. The buildings were made of stone and had outlasted basically everything else in Remnant and then some. And the tower in the distance seemed to be even older.

"Jeez, how old do you think this place is?" Sylvia wondered.

'I read about this place once.' Beryl signed. 'Long story short, the place is so ancient that all of our dating techniques literally cannot fully measure it.'

"Either way, it's now a Grimm hideout." Azura said, pointing ahead. A small pack of Beowolves stood before the team, snarling. "Show me what you kids can do!" She pulled out her trident, firing a quick shot at the horde to get their attention.

Mauva sighed, leveling her cane at the Grimm. "You know, it's far easier to kill them if we catch them off-guard." She said, before firing a shot that vaporized one of the Beowolves.

"Sure, but I want to see what you girls can do in a fight."

Nepheli rushed into the fray, slashing through a pair of Beowolves with two quick swings of her swords before moving on to another target. She summoned her wings, flying over a claw slash from a Beowolf and countering by driving her blades into its back. 

Beryl didn't even bother to pull out Rhitta, catching a Beowolf's attack with her bare hand and flipping it over her head and into the ground. She stomped on its skull, instantly killing it. Azura almost felt bad for the Grimm. Beryl calmly turned her focus to another Grimm, punching it in the chest hard enough to pierce through its back.

Sylvia created a lightning spear, hurling it at a Beowolf. It stunned the beast, giving her time to close the distance and impale it on Nameless (currently in its spear form). She spun around, slashing at a Grimm that tried to attack her from behind and cleanly bisecting it.

With Mauva blasting one more Beowolf, the pack that had found them had been quickly dispatched. Azura stared at them, slightly surprised.

"You kids are... certainly talented." She ended up saying. She ddin't want to stroke their egos too much, but she also wanted to make it clear they were on the right track. ' _Those kids killed eight Grimm in fifteen seconds! I know this year has had some absurdly competent new students, but this is obscene!_ '

"So, what next?" Mauva asked.

"We search the area, try to figure out where the giant Grimm is hiding, and then end its life."

* * *

While the kids were clearing out Grimm in the city, Azura decided to take the time and talk to each of them one on one and ask them a simple question.

"Why did you decide to become a Huntress?" Azura asked. She first started with Mauva, the one she considered most 'enigmatic'.

Mauva sighed, driving her cane into the skull of a Grimm she had knocked down. "I've done some things I'm not proud of, and I have a friend who's... going down a dark path. I'd like to get the chance to bring him in so he doesn't hurt anyone else."

"Trust me, I know all about that kind of thing." Azura assured. "Behind you!"

Mauva shot a firework, instantly destroying the Grimm trying to creep up behind her.

* * *

After getting Mauva's answer, Azura moved on to Beryl. "Why'd you decide to become a Huntress?"

Beryl turned to Azura, kicking a Grimm hard enough to decapitate it. 'I have strength that needs to go somewhere.' She signed, before casually turning around and grabbing another Grimm by the neck.

"Is that really it?" Azura asked.

'What else am I supposed to do with enough strength to throw a car?'

Azura opened her mouth to respond, before realizing that Beryl did have a point. "Fair enough."

* * *

With Beryl's incredibly vague answer, Azura was slightly annoyed but still moved on to asking Nepheli. "Why did you become a Huntress?"

Nepheli jumped up, dodging a Beowolf's attack and countering with a falling slash with her swords. "I want to help the Faunus. Being a Huntress seems like the fastest way to do it."

"You could have just joined the White Fang." Azura pointed out. "I'm not advocating joining them, but it seems like it would be a lot faster than going through four years of training."

Nepheli sighed. "Long story short, they hate me."

"Oh. Well, I do have a little extra advice about your Semblance." Azura added, as Nepheli summoned her wings. "They're solid, right? And have those little claw things on them. So, use them like an extra pair of limbs, like your tail!"

Nepheli did as suggested on the next Grimm that approach, hitting it with a short combo with her wings that tore it apart. "Huh. Thanks."

* * *

Sylvia ended up beating Azura to the punch on the questioning.

"Go ahead, ask me why I became a Huntress." Sylvia said.

"You heard me talking to your teammates?" Azura questioned. She thought she had been pretty good about separating them so that the others wouldn't hear them talk. 

"Nepheli texted me about it." Sylvia explained. "So, I guess you want me to tell you why I became a Huntress."

"That would be appreciated." Azura flatly said.

"Well, my birth parents were both Huntsmen, and so are my adoptive parents. It felt wrong to not do the same."

"I'm pretty sure you used that same explanation with Carmin and Nera."

Sylvia aimed Nameless at Azura on instinct. "How did you know about that?"

"I was Carmin and Nera's teacher back when they were students." Azura explained. "They call me once a month to talk."

Sylvia lowered her weapon, before suddenly spinning around to slice a Grimm in half when it tried to attack her from behind. " _Fine_. But my answer still stands."

* * *

They set up camp inside a building after clearing out the Grimm in the nearby area, deciding that it would be better to be well-rested for the battle ahead.

Azura kept watch on the roof, leaving Team SNBM on their own for the time being. Kids needed some privacy every once in a while.

"So, all of you got asked by Professor Aqua about why you became a Huntress?" Mauva asked, sitting at a small campfire inside (the smoke venting through a hole in the ceiling that showed the night sky).

The others nodded.

"Did _any_ of you tell her the whole truth of why?" Mauva added.

Everyone shook their heads.

"It's already hard to talk to a human about Faunus things." Nepheli said. "Even people who are cool with the Faunus have been super nasty to half-breeds like me."

'My mom wanted me to be a killer, so I decided to help people instead by being a Huntress.' Beryl signed. 'I didn't outright lie to Professor Aqua, but my strength was only part of why I decided to do this.' 

There was a silence, which Mauva ended up breaking. "I guess I'm the only one who really told the full truth. I became a Huntress to put my strengths into something more productive than crime, and to stop Roman from hurting anyone else."

All eyes were now on Sylvia, who was awfully silent. "Well?" Nepheli said.

"What?" Sylvia retorted.

"Aren't you going to tell us why you became a Huntress? It's not like we're gonna judge you."

Sylvia sighed. "Fine. It's... a bit of touchy and complicated subject, but I'll tell you." She took a breath, trying to calm her nerves. "So, you know my Semblance, right? I can produce and control lightning to an extent. And that I was in with Miss Malachite?"

Mauva stared at her, shocked. Beryl didn't really react, aware of her involvement with the woman, and Nepheli was just plain confused.

"Who's Miss Malachite?" Nepheli asked.

"Basically, she's the Mistralian version of Torchwick. Biggest crime boss in the region." Sylvia explained.

"Were- were you a fixer?" Mauva questioned.

"Debt collector, but yeah. My Semblance isn't very good at killing Grimm, since they don't have nerves to fry and my lightning's not as hot as actual fire. But it's perfect for killing humans. So, ever since I discovered my Semblance around the time I turned eight, I was acting as one of Miss Malachite's debt collectors. I'd show up to someone's house, tell them to pay up, and fry them until they begged for mercy." Sylvia explained. Her tone was somber, lacking her usual confidence.

'That's horrible. Did you kill anyone?' Beryl signed. 

Sylvia sighed. "Thankfully, no. Malachite wanted me to start moving down the assassination path, but I was pretty staunch about not killing people. I might be a killing machine, but I'm not going to actually kill anyone if I can get away with it."

"Well, you're with us now. If you do something bad like that, I won't hesitate to knock some sense into you." Nepheli assured.

"I- I'd appreciate that. Mauva, can I trust you to take care of the rest of the team if I go off the deep end?"

Mauva nodded. "Affirmative. But, I'm not letting that happen either. So, is there anything else about your choice of being Huntress you'd like to tell us?"

Sylvia shrugged. "I also want to track down the person who killed my parents, but that's more of a pipe dream than an actual goal. Anyway, I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head before I sleep." She stood up, walking out.

'I'm coming with.' Beryl signed, before following Sylvia.

* * *

Sylvia walked down the street, vaguely aware of Beryl's silent presence behind her. They both had brought their weapons, not wanting to have to fight the Grimm hand to hand (even if Beryl enjoys it).

The silverette sighed. Her thoughts were hazy, muddled from having to bring up memories she didn't like to remember. Beryl followed her, just wanting to make sure her leader was safe. 

_The day Sylvia's life turned for the worse was around the time she turned eight. After coming home from school, she found a woman sitting with her babysitter in the living room._

_"Hello, Sylvia." The woman said._

_"Who're you?" Sylvia asked. "Are you one of Mom and Dad's friends?"_

_"No. But, this concerns them."_

_Sylvia's world shattered as the woman explained that Silva and June Sparks, Sylvia's parents, had been killed on their last mission. The_ _pain from hearing that cause Sylvia to activate her Semblance for the very first time, electrocuting everyone around her._

_Sylvia was sent to an orphanage, without a purpose in life. Her parents were all she had. She didn't have friends, and the rest of her family_ _didn't want her. She ended up falling in with a bad crowd, where she met with Lil' Miss Malachite and became a 'debt collector'._

_With Sylvia's deadly Semblance, it wasn't hard for her to make plenty of money through Malachite's 'jobs'. For once, she actually had_ _purpose. As the years went by, she committed crime after crime and hurt person after person. She was never going to_ kill _them, sure, but s_ _he'd put plenty in the hospital from the complications of being electrocuted by the silverette._

_Even still, she felt empty. Nobody wanted her for anything other than her Semblance. Malachite paid her and that was it. Malachite's_ _daughters had been kind of nice, but they left for Vale before she could really make a connection with them. The other Spiders hated her for being Malachite's favorite thug._

_And then two women came to the orphanage one morning. Sylvia was fourteen at the time._

_"I still want to know why you had to pick this specific orphanage." Nera said. "You rejected every other one without even seeing the kids."_

_Carmin didn't give an answer. "Well, we're here. Isn't that enough?"_

_"I swear, you've been acting stranger and stranger ever since..._ that _."_

_Sylvia pondered what 'that' was, when the redhead of the two approached her._

_"Good morning." Sylvia said. The orphanage had taught her to be polite to potential parents. She didn't really care about being adopted,_ _but being rude would only get her yelled at by the caretakers. "You have the same eyes as mine."_

_"I'm Carmin Asche. That's my wife, Nera." Carmin said. " It's interesting to see another person with silver eyes. So, what do you want to do with your life?"_

_"To be a good girl and-"_

_"I don't want whatever bullshit answer they tell you to give us." Carmin interrupted, crouching down a bit so she was on eye level with the_ _silver-haired girl. "What do you want to do when you grow up?"_

_Sylvia was tellingly silent. What did she want to do? Being Lil' Miss Malachite's lapdog wasn't really her idea of a good time._

_"You want my advice?" Carmin asked. Sylvia didn't even have time to answer before Carmin continued. "Don't become a Huntress. It can_ _be a thrilling job with lots of adventure and combat, but most of it is just tracking Grimm and helping kids cross the street."_

_"You're a Huntress, aren't you?" Sylvia pointed out. That guitar slung behind Carmin's back was definitely not_ just _a guitar._

_"Yep. Both me and my wife." Carmin smiled. "I know you just met me, but what would you say to letting us adopt you?"_

_Sylvia paused. "Isn't there a whole process that can take months? I don't think you can just do this on a whim."_

_"The people who run this place owe us quite a few favors." Nera explained. "And I am part of the Asche family. I could easily pay off_ _everyone involved to expedite the process."_

_"That sounds incredibly shady." Sylvia bluntly said. "I'm in. I don't really know you two very well, but my gut says you're good, so... I guess I'll_ _trust my gut. It's never served me wrong so far."_

_Nera stared at her, baffled._

Sylvia's attention returned to reality when she heard another sound of footsteps. They didn't sound like Beryl or Professor Aqua's heels, nor like the footsteps of Nepheli and Mauva. Sylvia drew Nameless, noticing that she couldn't hear Beryl's footsteps either. Either Beryl had stopped, or something had already got her.

"You can come out now!" Sylvia shouted, before shooting a lightning bolt up into the sky. It was her distress signal, to make her position clear for the others. Now it was up to Nepheli and Mauva to get Professor Aqua and head over to help them. 

She was struck from behind before she could even react, feeling her entire body go numb. Sylvia fell over, unable to move.

A woman crouched down next to her, baring teeth (including two snake-like fangs) with her smile. The woman had green skin with diamond-shaped scales dotting her body, and gold eyes with slitted pupils. She had dark green hair that went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a simple black coat over a dark undershirt, and dark trousers with snake-like designs on them. "You're perceptive. But not perceptive enough." She said, hand glowing with a green Aura.


	21. Volume 2: CMIE - Kinship

Ivy dodged a hail of gunfire from a thug wielding a submachine gun, closing the gap between them and punching his lights out. 

"Looks like you're up to fifteen!" Toro called, grabbing a thug and throwing him at another. "You're starting to catch up!"

"This isn't a game, you know! These people are trying to kill us!" Ivy pointed out, punching the ground to create a pillar of earth beneath her and dodging another spray of bullets.

"Yes, but it's not like they're threats." Toro retorted, clotheslining an enemy as he tried to charge at him. "Let's have a little fun."

"I agree with Toro!" Saffron added, dodging a flurry of sword swipes from a pair of criminals before destroy their swords with her weapon (affectionately dubbed No More Hero for some reason Saffron never adequately explained) and then hitting both on the head with the pommel to knock them out. "Also, I'm winning!"

"You are not! I've been keeping count and you've only managed to be eighteen to my twenty!" Toro said, before grabbing another one of Dian's goons and slamming him into the ground. "Make that twenty one!"

Ivy rolled her eyes. " _Kids_."

* * *

Meanwhile, Team NERO was still hard at work trying to beat Lavender. Despite it literally being four on one, the adult Huntress was in a league above them and was keeping all four of them at bay.

Erin fired off another sniper shot, which got deflected by Lavender as a blade burst out of the ground below her. Erin stepped to the side, barely dodging it and firing another shot. This one actually managed to hit Lavender in the leg, knocking her off balance. Orcha stepped in, swinging her blade wildly at Lavender. 

The adult Huntress stabbed her spear into the ground, spinning around to strike Orcha in the stomach with a kick. Orcha barely managed to bring up her shield to block it, countering with a slash that forced Lavender back. Nera moved in with a pair of swords in hand, slashing at Lavender with technique that would take most years upon years to master.

Lavender's Aura glowed, a blade springing out of the ground between her and Nera. The black-haired girl stepped around the blade instead of moving back, landing a thrust that hit Lavender directly in the chest. The woman's Aura took the blow, but she was still forced back anyway.

Robin fired a few shots, as Nera and Orcha darted away to circle around Lavender. Lavender created a pair of blades with flat tips beneath her feet, springing up into the air. "Bad move." Robin said, activating his Semblance. Lavender's body suddenly glowed red, before slamming into the ground. "My Semblance lets me raise the gravity of anything above me."

"What was your name again?" Lavender asked, forcing herself to stand.

"Robin." The redhead said, aiming his revolvers at her.

"Fascinating. Despite being named after a bird, your power is the opposite of one." Lavender said, before creating a ring of blades around her to force Nera and Orcha to get back. "You bring others down instead of bringing yourself up."

"Are you really going for psychoanalysis in the middle of a fight?" Robin questioned, shooting through a gap in the blades and nailing Lavender in the shoulder.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a hobby of mine to figure out _why_ people have their Semblances. I'd guess you've got some significant personal issues to have a Semblance that does that." Lavender said, using another pair of blades to jump out of her little safe zone and leap at Robin. Once again, she slammed into the ground.

"I'm more curious what possessed you to do that." Nera remarked, as Lavender picked herself back up.

"Testing how it works. Now that I know it kills my momentum, your Semblance is useless." She said, before splitting her weapon into a tri-sectioned staff. Lavender dashed at Robin, who quickly fired a couple of shots to try and keep her at bay. Lavender spun her weapon to deflect the bullets, and then swung at Robin once she got close enough. Robin barely managed to bring up one of his guns to block the attack, using the other to fire another shot.

It clicked, out of ammo. Lavender went in for the finishing blow, only to get blasted by a sniper shot from Erin. "Forgot about me, didn'tcha?" 

Lavender's grip on her weapon tightened with frustration. These kids were getting annoyingly competent and had adapted to fighting her way too quickly for her liking. And then an explosion resounded from a room further inside.

"And that's my cue to end this." Lavender said, turning around. By this point, somebody had to have noticed the fighting and Huntsmen would be sent out to deal with whatever was happening. And if the other kids managed to weaken Dian, then she could swoop in, finish the fight, and take the credit for beating one of the most notorious killers in all of Remnant.

Lavender ran down the corridor, ready to take on Dian. Maybe she couldn't do it with Dian at her best (that woman was unnaturally powerful), but a weakened Dian should be enough for her to beat if she played her cards right.

* * *

Viri flipped back to dodge a wild swing from Dian's mech, catching an arrow that fell out of her quiver and nocking it midair. She took aim, stepping to the side just in time to avoid a blast from the plasma cannon the mech had on its left shoulder. She seriously even wondered how she got the resources to building something like this. Or why she even bothered when she was strong enough to throw the mech if she tried hard enough.

She shot the arrow into a joint on the mech's left hand, hitting something important if the creaking noises when Dian tried to move that hand were anything to go by. Iris used the opportunity to jump onto the mech's left arm, running up it while slashing at it with her blades. The plasma cannon tracked her, firing a blast just before she reached the shoulder itself. Iris barely managed to duck under it (the fur on her ears getting singed in the process), and jumped onto the shoulder to go after the cannon.

"Don't get cocky, beast." Dian said, before standing up from her seat in the mech and drawing her sword. It split down the middle of the blade, transforming into a bow that Dian promptly used to fire an arrow at the Faunus. Iris instinctively stepped to the side, doing exactly what Dian expected and moving into the path of the arrow. The sheer force of the attack sent Iris flying off the mech, barely managing to land on her feet.

Iris fired a few quick shots with Orthrus, darting to the side to avoid a hail of gunfire. She kept her senses trained on Dian, searching for a way to get in there and destroy the mech. Viri shot off another arrow, tipped with ice Dust, which hit the turret mounted on the mech's right shoulder. It completely froze over, giving them a much needed reprieve from the constant barrage of bullets.

Viri transformed her weapon into its mace form, the saws spinning with murderous intent. She jumped over a wild right hook from Dian's mech, landing on its arm mid-swing and running along it. Viri slammed her weapon down on the frozen turret, smashing it to pieces. Her follow up was to drive her weapon into the joint connecting the limb to the mech, using the spinning saws to tear it apart.

Not to be outdone, Iris ran onto the left arm as the plasma cannon started charging up. It automatically tracked her, while Dian was busy trying to get Viri off the mech. The Faunus skidded to a stop on the shoulder, jumping off just before the plasma cannon fired. The shot blasted off the mech's other arm, leaving it effectively defenseless.

Dian sighed, flipping up a protective cover that shielded a big red button. She pressed it, before jumping out of the cockpit. Iris and Viri gave chase, just as the mech self-destructed. The explosion wasn't as big as you'd expect, but shook the entire tunnel system regardless.

"You have forced my hand." She said, drawing her sword. "I'm going to kill the fox and then take you back, my child."

Viri grimaced, shifting Overgrowth (her weapon) back to its bow form. "Not a chance."

* * *

Meanwhile, Azura and Marigold were hard at work battling Crim.

Marigold was the first to make a move during the fight, teleporting behind Crim and swiping at him. He spun around, swinging his sword with all the might you'd expect for such a massive weapon. Marigold brought up her blade in return, barely managing to block his attack but still got knocked away.

"Marigold, be careful!" Azura called out. "Crim's Semblance lets him pierce through Auras. If you get hit anywhere even slightly vital, you'll be killed!" She then unscrewed the cap on her flask, pulling some of the liquor inside out to use as a projectile. Crim stepped to the side, avoiding a jet of liquid flying his way. He leveled his sword at her, firing a shot of its pistol. Azura took it head-on, rushing at Crim. Since her Aura level only mattered in regards to using her Semblance during this fight, she could afford to tank the ranged attacks.

Crim dodged her opening thrust, before blocking her follow up swing with his sword. "Still _weak_." He said, throwing a punch with his free hand. Azura ducked under it, extending her leg and tripping him up. Crim landed on his back, surprised.

"Who's weak now?" Azura questioned, planting her heel on Crim's chest. "Just surrender peacefully before I have to start hurting you."

Crim smirked, pushing himself up and forcing Azura off him. "You might have physical strength, but you'll never beat me. You don't have the strength of will. You're soft." He said, picking up his sword. He raised his arm for a swing, only for Marigold's whip to wrap around it.

"You forgot something." Marigold said, pulling as hard as she could. "I'm still here!"

Crim fired the gun in his sword, using the recoil to make Marigold lose her balance. He pulled away, unwinding the whip around his arm and grabbing it with his free hand. The Huntsman yanked it, pulling Marigold towards him. She teleported out of the way of his follow up slash, reappearing in place as Azura struck with a slash to the back.

Thanks to Marigold distracting him, Azura managed to catch him before he could put up his Aura fully and wounded him. It was a fairly shallow cut across his back, but it was still an injury nonetheless. Crim turned faster than she could react, slicing off her left forearm. 

The limb fell to the ground, Azura staring at it in utter horror. The stump sealed itself with a blue Aura, preventing her from bleeding out.

"Azura!" Marigold warped, appearing behind Crim and slashing at his neck. Crim ducked under her attack, spinning around to block her second slash. Marigold was undeterred, wildly going onto the offensive in a desperate attempt to beat Crim. To her credit, she actually managed to land quite a few hits and even moved fast enough to hit him before he could bring up Aura once and cut his cheek.

This was her last mistake. Crim struck back with a rising slash, Marigold stepping back in an attempt to dodge it. She wasn't fast enough. Crim's sword got her with its tip, slicing across the left side of her face and gouging out her eye. Blood coated the tip of Crim's blade, right before the wound closed itself with Marigold's Aura. 

Crim stepped to the side, dodging Azura's trident as she shot the head at him. "You've done nothing but disappoint." He said, turning his focus back on Azura. Marigold wasn't a threat anymore. Not that she ever was in the face of his ability. "A new world is dawning, Azura. And you just burned away your chance at living in it."

An explosion resounded, Dian's mech self-destructing.

Crim sheathed his sword. "Lucky you, Azura. You get to draw breath for a while longer." While he could theoretically beat all of the other student Huntsmen, he didn't really feel like risking capture by doing so. He turned around, running in the same direction as Carmin and the killer had went.

* * *

The killer and Carmin were quickly engaged in battle at the end of the tunnel. It had led upward, stopping behind a waterfall. The chamber itself was a hangar for some small airships, meant as a way to smuggle supplies.

Carmin swung Sistrum with every ounce of her strength, tearing through a crate instead of the killer as she flipped over the crate and behind it. Carmin spun her axe around, firing the shotgun to fling herself over the obstacle and bring her weapon down upon the enemy.

Who simply grabbed a wrench that was sitting on the ground and blocked her attack by filling it with Aura. The killer swiped the makeshift weapon at Carmin, narrowly missing the redhead as she leaned back. Carmin grabbed the wrench, taking it from the killer's hand and tossing it away while spinning around for another axe slash.

The killer jumped over Carmin's attack, landing on Sistrum. Carmin smirked, firing the shotgun to throw the killer off. It'd be hard for her opponent to dodge in the air. The killer merely jumped off gracefully, well before Carmin's plan was enacted.

Even still, Carmin kept rushing at the killer with everything she had. "Just die already!" She screamed, raising her weapon for an overhead slash. The killer didn't dodge, instead moving in and driving her elbow into Carmin's stomach; knocking the wind out of her. This was shortly followed by a kick that knocked Carmin onto her back.

Carmin froze with fear, as the killer stomped on her chest. She was going to die here, and she wouldn't even get the chance to avenge her parents. The killer drew her weapon, a large knife coated with fire Dust. It glowed an ominous red in the poorly lit hanger, making it feel like the room was covered in a thin film of blood.

"Pathetic." The killer said, her voice too distorted by her mask to make it. It almost sounded familiar regardless, like it was someone Carmin met once upon a time. "Is this really all a Silver-Eyed Warrior like you can muster? I suppose I should move on to ending your friends. How about I start with Marigold?"

Carmin's fear was quickly replaced with more rage. She didn't say a word, instead snapping her fingers and creating a shockwave with the sound. The killer was blown back, giving Carmin the chance to pick herself back up. Sistrum shifted into its guitar mode, as Carmin brought out a guitar pick from her sleeve. She was about to start playing seriously, and a broken finger (which happened distressingly often when she got serious) would only prove to be an annoyance.

[(Ride the Fire! Karaoke Version - Guilty Gear XRD -SIGN-)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioCVtQ8KFaA)

She gave a quick strum, sending out a razor-sharp blast of sound that the killer sidestepped. Carmin smirked, before starting to play in earnest. It was a song she knew by heart, one her mother played for her once upon a time. This version had a faster tempo, of course, but it was still _her_ song. A shockwave shook the entire room, as Carmin started to pick up the pace. 

The killer dodged each and every blast sent her way, circling around Carmin in an attempt to find a way to approach once more. Carmin picked up on what the killer was planning, firing another sharp burst of sound in front of her. The killer barely stopped in time, only to get hit with a concussive wave that sent her into the wall.

Carmin kept up the pressure, as the killer ran straight at her. The guitarist rolled her eyes, letting loose with a shockwave that blew her back. She didn't let up, unleashing blast after blast in a vicious attempt to destroy her opponent. To her credit, the killer managed to regain her balance and start dodging the assault.

She jumped over a concussive wave, twisting her body in the air to evade an air slash before landing and rushing straight at Carmin. She suddenly darted to the side, just as Carmin let loose with a blast that covered everywhere in front of her. Even with her foresight to move, the killer still wasn't fast enough to completely get out of the way. Her leg was caught by the blast of force, sending her spinning.

Carmin got ready to finish things with a sharp blast, only for an explosion to resound elsewhere. She stopped, realizing that her friends were in danger. The killer picked herself up, running for the waterfall. Carmin moved for her, before turning around and running to help her friends.

* * *

Iris and Viri stared down Dian, as she slowly approached her daughter. They were already tired from having to deal with the mech, and Dian was still fresh. Viri nocked a wind Dust arrow, keeping her focus solely on Dian. She activated her Semblance, the world fading away and leaving nothing but her target. Red lines appeared in the area, showing every possible angle she could shoot at to hit Dian. She narrowed down her target to Dian's left leg, and most of the red lines faded.

Viri let her arrow fly. Despite it shooting at Dian with the speed of a bullet, the woman still managed to slice it perfectly in two with her sword.

"It seems that you want to be my first target, Viri." Dian said, focusing purely on Viri. "I do hope you've grown more capable in close combat. That was always the place you faltered."

Viri shifted Overgrowth to its mace form. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her weapon, fear starting to take over. Memories of every single beating, every single 'training session', every single day she had to go without food because she didn't meet mother's expectations, they all flashed in her mind.

Iris lunged at Dian in an attempt to protect Viri, who swung her sword so fast it was a silver blur for an instant without even looking at her target. The Faunus was suddenly sent flying, only alive because she had put up her Aura before attempting the attack. Dian slowly started approaching Viri, guard down. It would be easy to strike her down there if it was a lesser woman.

But Dian Olivia was no lesser woman.

' _I'm like an insect to her._ ' Iris grimly realized. She picked herself up, firing a few shots at Dian. Who didn't even flinch, tanking the shots like they were nothing. Even with the overwhelming gap in power, speed, and skill, Iris still moved in to keep attacking. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt one of the few friends she has in her life.

Dian blocked the Faunus' attack, surprised. "You're a bit faster than I expected." She pushed Iris back, before having to keep blocking as Iris rushed at her with everything she had. Dian jumped over her, kicking her in the back. "But still not nearly enough." Her sword transformed into its bow form, as she took aim for Iris' head. She let loose.

Viri shot Dian's arrow out of the air, smirking. "Yeah, I'm not gonna let you do that." She said. "Nor am I gonna let you take me back."

Dian growled in annoyance, getting ready to strike. And then Tridangler's head came flying at her, narrowly missing as she tilted her head.

"I'm with Viri." Azura said, standing at the mouth of the tunnel she had fought Crim in. Marigold was leaned against her, silent. The pain from losing her eye had made her basically go catatonic, numbly following Azura. "You're not going to hurt any more children."

"Please. You're missing an arm and the other girl would let me kill her if I made a move." Dian said. "You two aren't going to be much help for my daughter or her 'friend'."

A sniper rifle whizzed past her head, forcing Dian to turn around. It was Team NERO and Lavender, all ready to attack.

"Then what about us?" Nera said. "Can you handle seven Huntsmen all on you at once?"

"Sorry, my sister-in-law. I was only going to side with you until I could get a chance to bring you to justice." Lavender said.

Dian grit her teeth, frustrated. While she could take out all of them, she'd after use more strength than she'd like and would probably end up killing Viri in the bloodbath. A blast of sound almost knocked her off her feet, courtesy of a certain guitarist.

"I'm back, _bitch_." Carmin said, standing with Azura and Marigold. "You're trying to hurt one of my teammates, and I can't exactly sit by and let that happen. So, would you rather go to the hospital in a stretcher or in a _bodybag_?" 

"How about... neither?" Dian said, before pulling out a smoke bomb and throwing it onto the floor. The entire room was quickly filled with smoke, covering her retreat. Viri activated her Semblance, quickly shooting her with an arrow. It stuck her in the shoulder, but she still managed to get away.

* * *

More Huntsmen showed up not long after, and the team quickly had to give their accounts of the event to the police. Azura and Marigold had to be rushed to the hospital to have their injuries treated.

The students (and Azura, once she came out of surgery) shared the same basic story of it being a training mission that had took a massive turn for the worse. 

* * *

"We didn't actually think that my mom was going to have an actual giant robot suit when we came down there." Viri said. "Or that she'd still be strong enough to dominate me and Iris. I shot her with a tracking arrow, so you should prolly check the signal to find her."

* * *

"I was working undercover when the kids showed up." Lavender explained.

* * *

"After we got in, my team had to fight Lavender." Nera said. "She was quite the opponent, even if she wasn't fighting to kill. And once it seemed like Dian might be defeatable, she instantly turned to help us."

* * *

Azura made sure that Marigold wouldn't have to be questioned on her side of the story, seeing as the poor girl has had enough to deal with for one day. 

* * *

"While in pursuit of the person we believe to be the woman who killed Carmin Rivers-Melody's birth parents, we ran into my former teammate and boss Crim Granyon." Azura explained. "Due to his Aura-piercing Semblance, our battle had the result of Marigold's wounds and my own. After the explosion, Crim had run away before he could kill us."

* * *

"The girl was about my height and size, wearing all black and a black helmet ." Carmin said, holding up a rough sketch of the killer. "She pulled out this big knife coated in fire Dust partway into our battle, and had absurd reaction times. My attacks are basically invisible and super fast, and she dodged most of them."

* * *

"I didn't really see much, since I was helping my team clear out the goons outside." Midnight explained.

* * *

Thanks to Azura's testimony, Crim also couldn't run free and was forced into hiding. Lavender Evergreen ended up having her license suspended for her actions, something she agreed with given the circumstances.

About two weeks passed, with Marigold still in the hospital due to the damage Crim did to her eye. Her entire eye had been destroyed, and the bones around it needed significant reconstructive surgery. She was still left with a nasty scar over it, which was partially covered by a white medical eye patch.

Team CMIE gathered in Marigold's hospital room, along with Azura. The blue-haired Huntress had a metal mount for a prosthetic on the stump of her left arm.

"So, yeah, I should be discharged soon. They're gonna do the surgery to finish the mount for my replacement eye in tomorrow." Marigold said. "I already called Mom and Dad about it and they'll be coming over the day after to see us."

"That's great, Marigold! You'll be back into fighting shape in no time!" Viri cheered. "But, I've got some news of my own that ain't... the _greatest_."

"Who died?"

"My mom finally managed to get the tracking device out of her body." Viri said. The air in the room suddenly turned colder, as if the mere mention of Dian was cursed. "And if her movements are to be believed, she's heading to Atlas."

Iris froze up at the mention of the northern kingdom.

"I've also been hearing some rumors that Crim's going that way too." Azura added.

"If I were a betting girl, I'd wager that the killer is heading that way as well." Carmin said. "Well, we're in luck. This year's Vytal Festival is being held in Atlas. During the time between our fights, we can go out and investigate."

"And I'll be there since A: I'm actually going to be the co-commentator for the tournament, and B: I know a prosthetist there that's one of the best in world." Azura said. "I can pick my new arm and Marigold's eye."

"I'm not going back..." Iris muttered.

"Iris, you okay?" Viri asked, turning to the Faunus (even if she was in her human disguise).

" _I'm not going back to Atlas_!" She yelled, attempting to bolt out of the room. Marigold teleported into her path, spreading her arms to block Iris from going out the door.

"Running away isn't going to help!" Marigold said. "Just, talk to us. What happened to you in Atlas?"

"Please, we can't help you unless we know what's going on." Viri added. "I promise we won't throw you to the cops or whatever."

Iris sighed. "Fine. You want to know why I'm so scared of going to Atlas, why I have problems trusting most humans?" She pulled off her shirt, revealing her back. It shimmered for a moment, before revealing an awful burn scar.

At least, that's what they thought they saw, before Azura spoke up. "They- they _branded_ you?"

Her scar was an SDC brand, marking her as Slave 0168. "I was born into Schnee Dust Company slavery. My mom had been captured by them, and she had gotten pregnant while a slave." Iris explained. "Nine months later, I was brought into this world. We weren't allowed to have names, nor an education. We were barely given food, water, and our shelters were barebones at best."

"That- that's _horrible_." Carmin whispered, unable to speak any louder. She knew that the SDC was always best described as humanity's worst in the form of a corporation, but she never knew they were willing to enslave children. 

"Even with all the rules, my mom still did everything she could to make my life more bearable. She taught me how to read, basic math, and the history of the Faunus." Iris continued. "I was almost happy. And then... and then there was an accident during at the Dust mining site we worked at. I think it was some employee trying to steal some unprocessed Dust and blowing it up. The blast caused a chain reaction that tore the place apart."

"Did- did your mother survive?" Azura asked.

" _I don't know_!" Iris yelled, tears streaming down her face. "She told me to run, to use this chance to escape. So, I did. I developed my Semblance through the stress of it all to hide as a human. I snuck onto an airship that was headed to Mistral. I figured out how to lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever it took to survive. And, I taught myself more about the world. While reading a book on flowers, I came up with my name. Iris Wisteria. Two purple flowers."

Viri wanted to remark about how uncreative her name was, but held her tongue. She was her friend, and this was not the time or the place. "And then you met Carmin and Marigold." She instead stated.

Iris nodded. "So, do you understand? Why I don't want to go back there?"

Carmin nodded. "I'm not going to force you to do anything. I really appreciate you for opening up to us like this. To a bunch of humans."

"You're not quite... _humans_. Not like those people." The Faunus shuddered at a memory.

"It's weird to feel complimented by being called not a human." Marigold remarked, to the response of a giggle from Iris of all people.

"But, I do have to ask." Carmin said. "Do you know what happened to your mom?"

Iris shook her head. "After I ran, I never looked back. And since I didn't know what her real name was, if she even had one, I can't look her up. She could be dead for all I know."

"But you _don't_." Carmin pointed out. "Once again, I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, but I think this is the perfect chance to try and find your mother. The SDC released all their slaves a few years ago, due to bad publicity. And because making them wage slaves was easier anyway, since they didn't riot as much."

"You're saying there's a chance my mom's not dead?" Iris asked, surprised to hear those words out of Carmin's mouth. That girl was never one for optimistic outlooks (she was only second to Iris herself in cynicism among their friend group).

Carmin nodded. "A very strong one. If she's as great a mom as you told us, then she wouldn't die without seeing you again."

"And, to use what Carmin said, if I were a bettin' girl, she's probably still in Atlas." Viri added. "I know I'd stay in one place and hope my kid would come to me rather than try to go out and possibly abandon them when they do come to you."

"That's a surprisingly smart line of reasoning, Viri." Iris remarked. "For you, anyway."

Viri just hugged her, causing the Faunus to squeak in surprise and accidentally drop her disguise completely. Carmin rolled her eyes, before joining in the hug. Azura awkwardly stood on the sidelines, not sure what to do, when Marigold teleported over to her and brought her over and joining the others in a big group hug.

Team CMIE might not be a perfect team, but it was their little family. And they were going to stick together and help each other accomplish their goals. Carmin's parents were going to be avenged, Marigold was going to get even with Crim and make sure her friends never get hurt again, Iris was going to find her mom, and Viri was going to stop her mom from hurting anyone else. 

This was a promise they all had made without words. And one they were going to keep, no matter what.

* * *

Crim and Dian ended up sneaking onto the same airship, both heading to Atlas.

"I'm surprised." Dian said. "Never thought you'd be the type to run away."

"Aren't you the battle-crazed psychopath?" Crim pointed out.

Dian shrugged. "That is an accurate summation of the kind of person I am."

Before they could continue, something buzzed inside Dian's seat. She pulled out a small disc shaped projector, and it automatically played its message. A hologram of the the killer appeared.

" _I understand you are both heading to Atlas, Crim, Dian._ " The killer said.

"How'd she know that?" Crim questioned. He was fairly certain that was a pre-recorded message and neither of them had told a soul about where they were heading. 

" _I know far more than you ever will, Crim. And before you attempt to search for a bug, I did pre-record this message. I am still in Mistral at the moment, and have no physical method of determining what you two are doing. My Semblance is the only reason I'm aware of your current location._ "

"Then what do you want?" Dian questioned.

" _I appreciate the forwardness, Dian. Anyway, I've etched coordinates into the back of this device. Dian, Crim, you are to go there and wait until you receive further orders._ "

Neither liked having to listen to someone else, but they knew that they didn't have another option. They just had to wait until the time was right to strike. Then both of their plans could be fulfilled without anything to stand in their way.

[Credits Theme: Stick Together - Elias Naslin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GouYdhltn0)


	22. Volume 2: SNBM - Bonds

After the woman had captured them, she brought Sylvia and Beryl into the tower at the far end of the city. Every time the two started to regain feeling in their bodies, she simply hit them with another Aura-infused strike (Sylvia assumed it was her Semblance, since it didn't feel like she was just hitting pressure points) and paralyzed them some more.

She brought them into a chamber deep underneath the tower, setting them down in front of a throne. Which she promptly proceeded to sit down in after resetting the timer on the paralysis by hitting both of them again. 

"I'm going to guess you're White Fang." Sylvia said after the woman had given her control of her body from the neck up back.

"Gee, who else could I be?" The woman dryly remarked. "It's not like the abomination didn't see me at the last White Fang meeting. I'm Serpentia Jade, by the way."

"And you're a snake Faunus. That's an awfully uncreative name." Sylvia said.

"Do you always spend your time being a little shit, or just with me?" Serpentia retorted. "Why do you think you're still alive?"

"Because I have something you want."

"Close. You're bait. I need to kill your teacher to prevent a snag in my masters' plans. Her Semblance is extraordinarily powerful, and having someone like her running around wouldn't be very good."

Sylvia chuckled. "Well, you made a few mistakes with that plan."

Serpentia brought out her weapon (a katana with a bulky sheath) from behind the throne, drawing the blade and aiming at the silverette. "And pray tell, _just_ what are these mistakes?"

"Well, first: You didn't bother to take out Nepheli and Mauva." Sylvia said. "And those two aren't going to take kindly to their leader being kidnapped along with our youngest. Second: Professor Aqua's probably stronger than whatever you're throwing at us. Third: You didn't take our weapons."

Serpentia moved, attempting to paralyze Sylvia and Beryl before they could get back up. She barely managed to get Beryl in time, but Sylvia unleashed a blast of electricity that forced Serpentia to get back.

Sylvia stood, drawing Nameless. "And fourth: You didn't expect me to think of any of that."

* * *

About half an hour prior to the beginning of Sylvia and Serpentia's battle, Azura saw the flash of lightning Sylvia sent out as a beacon before her capture.

"Sylvia is in trouble!" Azura informed, running down to get Nepheli and Mauva.

Who were already standing, about to get moving. "We saw it too." Mauva said, putting her hat on. "I just started tracking her and Beryl's Scrolls. They're heading towards the tower."

"Then let's get moving! I don't know who or what got them, but I'm not letting them fight the bad guys without us!" Nepheli said, summoning her wings.

* * *

[(Voltaic Black Knight - Devil May Cry 5 OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZivw8E6Ddg)

Sylvia and Serpentia clashed their blades, attempting to force each other off balance. Serpentia used her free hand for a spearhand strike in an attempt to hit Sylvia with her Semblance, only for the silverette to twist herself around and dodge it before shifting Nameless into spear mode and using the extended shaft hitting the ground to vault over Serpentia.

She landed behind the Faunus, retracting Nameless' shaft as she spun around for a slash. Serpentia parried her attack, before grabbing her sword's sheath and swinging it at Sylvia. The student ducked, narrowly avoiding getting clubbed in the head, and let loose with a blast of lightning to force Serpentia to get back.

Serpentia pulled a trigger on the sheath's handle, causing a bladed disc to shoot out of it right at Sylvia. She slashed it out of the air, deflecting it into the ceiling. Where it bounced off and ricocheted across the room before coming at Sylvia from behind.

Sylvia jumped to the side, dodging the disk as it returned to Serpentia's weapon. The silverette rushed in, continuing to keep up her offensive and force Serpentia to block and dodge instead of attack. Doing that would buy time for Beryl to get back up, and for the others to arrive. ' _Just hold the line._ '

"By the way, I _just_ remembered that your friend is here." Serpentia said, blocking an overhead slash and pushing back with her sword before shooting another disc. This time, it was aimed at Beryl. Sylvia turned, running to slash it out of the air. She moved faster than she ever thought possible, instinctively using her Semblance to stimulate her muscles in order to boost her speed just enough to get there in time and deflect the disc.

Serpentia used the distraction to get to Beryl herself, using her Semblance to paralyze her once more. Sylvia's grip on Nameless tightened, frustrated. That meant another two and a half minutes (if she was counting right) before Beryl could move. She switched Nameless into spear mode, activating the rocket booster to send herself flying at Serpentia.

Blade met blade once more, as the two clashed.

* * *

Mauva shot a firework at the entrance to the tower, blasting it open. She was not going to waste time with any meaningless distractions.

She, Nepheli, and Azura came face to face with a giant Grimm. It was a Bael Grimm, a frog-like beast with four eyes and a rotund body. Its maw opened for a moment, a harpoon-like tongue lying inside.

"Would that be the Grimm we were supposed to deal with?" Mauva asked.

"I'm pretty sure that meets the description. I think I remember one of the accounts describing it as looking like a frog." Azura said, as the Bael stared at them.

"In that case, let's kill it and move on! We can't afford to waste time while Sylvia and Beryl are captured!" Nepheli declared, summoning her wings and rushing at it. She quickly had to roll to the side in the air to dodge its tongue shooting at her like a bullet, spearing into the ground.

The Bael reeled its tongue, pulling itself across the ground and slamming into Nepheli. The Faunus hit the ground, tumbling across the stone. Mauva stepped in to catch Nepheli, before firing a blast at the beast.

It took it head-on, like it was nothing.

"This is going to be annoying." Mauva muttered. That thing's skin was too tough to damage with her normal Aura-powered fireworks. Maybe the Dust-powered ones could do some real damage, but she didn't have much Dust on hand. "Professor, do you think you could-"

Azura shot Tridangler's head, stabbing into the Bael's side. She retracted it, closing the distance between them and kicking it in the side. It didn't do anything but annoy the monster, which was all Azura needed to do. She pulled her weapon out of the Grimm, flipping back as it swung one of its forelegs at her. She opened a flask on her hip, using her Semblance to take out the water and slash at the beast's side with it.

This actually did some damage, opening up a fairly large gash. Azura was definitely glad to have brought her cutting water flask (she put some garnet in the liquid to act as an abrasive) for this mission.

The Bael shot its tongue at Azura, who deflected it into the ground with her trident. And then she had to step back to avoid getting crushed as the monster pulled itself towards her.

* * *

Sylvia flipped over Serpentia's head, attempting to bring her blade down on her opponent's skull. Serpentia brought her sword, blocking Sylvia's attack and pushing her up into the air. She leapt after the silverette, slamming her back down to the ground with the butt of her weapon.

Serpentia didn't let up, firing several bladed discs from her sheath that Sylvia quickly had to dodge. They bounced around, attacking Sylvia from every angle. She barely kept up, deflecting each disc that strayed too close while dodging the rest. A few still got through her guard, weathering down her Aura.

Sylvia decided to go back onto the offensive, firing a blast of lightning from Nameless at Serpentia. Much to Sylvia's horror, the Faunus' solution to the attack was to bring up her sword and split the bolt in two. Sylvia understood it was theoretically possible, but the speed and reflexes needed to do made it impractical to do at best,

So, she rushed at Serpentia to take her on in close quarters. She felt a disc hit her in the back, but she powered onward anyway, swinging her blade for Serpentia's head. Serpentia ducked under her first slash, then sidestepped the second overhead, before outspeeding Sylvia and slashing her across the stomach.

Sylvia's Aura (a bright silver like her eyes) flickered, before fading away. She was spent. The next hit was going to decide her fate.

"I'll give it to you, you're one of the best fighters I dealt with in a while. Most Huntsmen die in the first minute. But you? You managed to last four. So, I'll cut you a deal. If you and the little girl join me, I'll spare you. The abomination, the one who betrayed Torchwick, and Azura have to go however. I can't let them continue running around tainting this world." Serpentia said, pointing her blade and the sheath at Sylvia. "So, what do you say?"

"I want nothing more than to shove my foot up your ass and start electrocuting you until you explode like an egg in a microwave." Sylvia hissed. Without her Semblance, Nameless couldn't fire a blast and it would starting running out of electrical power soon. It was going to be an uphill battle at _best_.

"Fine. When you meet whatever deity you worship, just know I gave you a chance." Serpentia fired a disc at Sylvia, intending to cut off her head.

It instead met the flat of Beryl's axe, grinding on it for a few seconds before returning to Serpentia. Beryl was back in action, standing with Sylvia and glaring at Serpentia. She didn't say anything, for obvious reasons, but her eyes were burning with determination.

* * *

Nepheli darted upward, evading the Bael's tongue as it shot it at her. It hit a building behind her, and she had an idea. She landed on the tongue, using her swords and wings to slash it as she ran along it. Nepheli jumped off just as the Bael started to reel itself in, sticking out a sword to slash its head as it went past her.

Mauva pulled an ice Dust crystal out of her pocket, inserting it into a chamber in her cane and firing. The firework she shot this time was blue, and hit the Bael in the back and froze the beast's entire rear end from top to bottom. She switched to an earth Dust crystal, shooting a brown firework that quickly expanded into a boulder that shattered the ice and dealt a nasty blow to the Grimm in the process.

The Bael spun around, before springing into the air. Nobody was really surprised (the monster was a frog, after all), but was annoyed they had to deal with it pulling out a new trick. Azura shot Tridangler's head into it as it reached the peak of its jump, reeling herself in and driving her heel into its stomach. This didn't do any damage, but pushed it further into the air and gave her time to enact her plan.

She used her Semblance to create a small platform (barely larger than her foot) of water, landing on it as she pulled her weapon out of Bael. Azura created a few more stepping stones of water, moving out from underneath the Bael and over it. She made one above it, jumping up and then springing off it to stab her trident into the beast's damaged back and bringing it back down to the ground.

The shockwave nearly knocked the students off their feet, as hunks of the stone road were sent flying. Mauva loaded a fire Dust crystal into her cane, taking aim. The Bael's mouth lolled open, in a daze from the blow. She shot an empowered firework down its gullet.

There was a pregnant pause.

Followed very shortly by the Bael being blasted into pieces that quickly faded to dust.

"Let's go." Mauva said, turning around to head into the tower. Nepheli was about to, before realizing something.

"Hey, where's the professor?" She asked.

And then Azura crashed into the ground in front of them, slightly burnt but altogether fine. "You kids are really something else, huh?" She said, like she hadn't just got sent flying by a Dust explosion. "Come on, we've got a couple of students to save!"

They got moving, hoping they would make it in time.

* * *

The trio ended up coming face to face with a horde of White Fang, all armed with a variety of weapons.

Mauva sighed, adjusting her glasses. This was going to take a while, wasn't it? Nepheli let out a battle cry as she charged into the fray with all the subtlety of a train crash. And Azura simply drew some more water out of her flask, sending it out to do battle.

* * *

Beryl drove her palm into Serpentia's stomach while the two were clashing their weapons, sending the Faunus flying back. Serpentia dug her katana into the ground, barely stopping herself from hitting the wall behind her. She quickly flipped to the side just as Beryl leapt at her for an overhead axe smash, which shattered the floor. The sheer force nearly knocked Serpentia off balance, and she wasn't even anywhere near it! "You really do have all your mother's strength." Serpentia remarked.

Beryl saw red at the mention of her mother, lunging at the Faunus with ever-increasing ferocity. Serpentia was forced not just onto the defensive, but onto one where she couldn't block. All she could do was dodge, as any strike Beryl made could easily tear through her defenses (and probably just tear through her weapon entirely) and possibly even break her Aura in a single hit.

Serpentia decided now was the time to start going crazy, firing off every disc her sheath had to offer at the small girl. Beryl spun around to dodge the first, bringing up her axe to deflect the second, and then plain shattered the third that came her way with a swing of her weapon. The next five were quickly followed by Serpentia rushing at her while attacking with both sword and sheath.

Beryl felt two of the discs hit her Aura, bouncing off and ricocheting around the room. She didn't have the ability to track them, not while Serpentia was going onto a berserk offensive with the full intention of ending Beryl's life.

"You know, you could be doing so much _more_ with that kind of strength!" Serpentia said, thrusting her katana at Beryl's chest. Beryl stepped to the side and brought up Rhitta just in the nick of time to block Serpentia swinging her sheath. "Why waste it fighting for a bunch of people you don't even know?"

The small girl just plain caught Serpentia's sword with her free hand, using her Aura to tank the damage. Her eyes said everything, brimming with dark hatred. She kicked Serpentia in the shin, tripping her up before hitting her with her axe in a rising slash. Serpentia's Aura flickered, bordering on breaking.

All they needed was one more good hit. Serpentia landed a fair distance away from Beryl (and Sylvia, who was catching her breath and trying to rebuild her Aura levels).

Serpentia sighed. "I don't like having to use this." She said, as her sheath split open to reveal an enormous second sword with a blade coated in green poison Dust. "It makes fighting too easy."

Sylvia took one last breath, finally ready to get back into the fray. She gripped Nameless until her knuckles turned white, determined to put an end to this. 

[(Jet Set Run - My Hero Academia OST)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htl9NYmCo2k)

Beryl was the first to make a move, transforming Rhitta into its shotgun form and firing a blast of buckshot at Serpentia. The Faunus spun her katana, catching every single pellet and swinging it to throw them back at Beryl. Despite Serpentia's performance, Beryl wasn't phased, turning Rhitta back to its axe form and using it as a shield to block the attack.

Serpentia then swung her giant sword in Sylvia's direction, shooting a crescent wave of toxic energy at her. Sylvia stepped to the side, before rushing at Serpentia. Gold blade met green blade, as Serpentia pushed Sylvia back and leapt at her. The silverette narrowly managed to step to the side and dodge Serpentia thrusting her giant sword at her, and then quickly blocked a slash from Serpentia's katana.

Sylvia shifted Nameless into its spear mode, using its extending shaft to push Serpentia off balance and then slamming the end of the shaft into Serpentia's side. The Faunus hissed, swinging both of her swords wildly with the full intention of tearing Sylvia to shreds. Beryl stepped in, catching Serpentia's giant sword with her axe and pulling it into her free hand.

Beryl smirked, stepping back before hurling it at Serpentia. The Faunus caught it by the handle, spinning around to force Sylvia to get back as she tried to attack once more, and then rushed at Beryl. The young student blocked Serpentia's overhead slash, losing her grip on Rhitta. The axe flew behind her, planting itself into the ground.

Serpentia moved in for the kill, only for Sylvia to step in and block her katana slash. This desperate move made Sylvia drop Nameless, causing it to land next to Rhitta. The Faunus swung again, only for Sylvia to move first and hit her with an electrically-infused palm strike. Even while being electrocuted, Serpentia still managed to land a kick and force Sylvia back. 

Sylvia instinctively grabbed the first weapon she could touch, picking up Rhitta. It was a bit heavy for her liking, but was more than plenty to tear Serpentia to shreds. The Faunus moved in, swinging her giant sword and releasing a burst of toxic energy that Sylvia barely managed to block. Serpentia went for a second attack with her katana, only to instead meet Nameless' electrically-charged blade.

Which was being wielded by Beryl. Nameless may have been a bit light, and definitely lacked the same raw murderous power that Rhitta had, but it was just fine for fighting. Sylvia and Beryl looked to each other, nodding. They couldn't trade weapons right now, not without Serpentia capitalizing on the opening and hurting one of them.

The duo rushed Serpentia, going onto a tandem offensive that the Faunus could barely manage to block. Sylvia and Beryl did a cross slash together, sliding past Serpentia and sending her giant sword flying out of her grasp.

They spun around, stepping in for a second paired cross slash. Serpentia brought up her katana in a desperate attempt to block it, a web of cracks forming across the blade.

" _And your fifth mistake_!" Sylvia yelled. " ** _You underestimated the bond Beryl and I share_**!"

With one final war cry and push from the Huntresses-in-training, Serpentia's katana shattered and their weapons hit Serpentia directly. They tore past her Aura, leaving her with an awful X-shaped gash across her chest. Serpentia collapsed, passing out from exhaustion and pain.

(Music end)

Sylvia fell onto one knee, exhausted as well. "We- we did it..." She muttered, gasping for breath.

Beryl helped her up, giving her a shoulder to lean on, just as Nepheli burst in through the door while surfing on a White Fang member's body. Mauva and Azura ran in after her.

"Sylvia, Beryl!" Nepheli called. "I'm so glad you're okay!" She practically tackled the two, hugging them tightly.

"Can't- breathe-!" Sylvia squeaked out. While Beryl couldn't say anything, her expression mirrored Sylvia's.

Nepheli let go of them, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry. It's good to see you two are okay. And beat the crap out of that White Fang chick!"

'You know her?' Beryl signed. It was a little difficult while Sylvia was propped up on her shoulder, but she managed nonetheless.

"She was at that White Fang meeting I went to while investigating Torchwick. I think she's a pretty high ranking member. Like, a general or something within the organization." Nepheli explained.

"Well, we can now add 'took out major figure in a terrorist organization' to my resume." Sylvia remarked, before groaning. Fighting Serpentia was exhausting and then some.

"So, Professor, what do we do now?" Mauva asked.

"Can you kids tie her up so she doesn't get away?" Azura asked, to the response of nodding from the students. "Great! I'm going to call for a ride back to Vale so we can properly deal with her?"

* * *

Team SNBM and Azura returned to Vale the following morning, just after the Breach.

Where Mauva saw Roman Torchwick being hauled into a prison transport. She ran over, using her Semblance to speed past the guards.

"So, this is where you went, Roman." Mauva said.

"Morning, Mini-me. I'd tip my hat, but..." Roman vaguely gestured to the top of his head, which was hatless. "You get the point. So, what are you going to say to me? I know you've been _dying_ for the chance to see me in cuffs."

Mauva adjusted her glasses, taking a breath. "I hope you rot in the hole for the rest of your miserable life. And when you die, I hope your next life is just as painful."

"Ouch. _You wound me, Mini-me_!" Roman dramatically swooned.

Mauva turned away, walking off as they took Roman away.

"I'm surprised." Sylvia remarked. "I thought you'd outright flay him for whatever he did."

Mauva sighed. "I strongly considered it, but I didn't see the point in laying into him further. He doesn't deserve my attention anymore."

"Probably the healthy thing to do." Nepheli said.

"So, what do you all think we should do before the Vytal Festival?" Mauva asked.

"Take a break." Sylvia said. "I think we're more than trained to take on basically anyone. Does that sound good with you guys?"

"I think my muscles would literally explode if I tried training any time within the next week." Nepheli said, rubbing her aching arm.

'I'll just do my usual exercises before bed until you say otherwise.' Beryl signed.

"You lift weights that weigh four hundred pounds. For an _hour_." Mauva pointed out. "I think you've somehow surpassed the peak of human athleticism. Anyway, I'll take it easy. Not like I have a particular goal any more."

* * *

Roman sat down in his holding cell (aboard Ironwood's flagship), sighing. This was not part of the plan.

"You too, Torchy?" Serpentia said, from the adjacent cell. "I assumed you'd be trickier than _this_."

"Can it, Serpentia." Torchwick retorted. "You didn't even get anything done."

"Now now, that's not true. I've set the stage for those kids. They're riding on a high of victory that'll carry them through the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"Ooh, _do tell_."

"By them managing to genuinely defeat me while I was fighting at my fullest, with only two of their ranks, they'll think I'm done." Serpentia explained. "And, while I can't say anything in here, it'll be a treat and a half to see what else goes down."

[Credits Song: Don't Stop Me Now - Queen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that closes out Volume 2! This volume was treat and a half to write on both ends, and I think I outdid myself with the fight scenes and musical choices.  
> Speaking of musical choices, the credits is an upbeat popish song just like with CMIE's Volume 2 ending. And, as you might imagine, it's meant to reflect our heroes' thoughts at the end of this journey, right before what happens in Volume 3.  
> Well, I'll be seeing you all in a bit, for the premiere of Volume 3, with a special surprise at the end of the next chapter for you all!


	23. Volume 3: CMIE - The Tournament Begins

The Amity Colosseum floated above Atlas Academy, the site of this year's Vytal Festival. The arena was half lava field, and half desert canyon.

The fighters for this round was Team CMIE versus Team BRNE (Brine) of Atlas Academy, duking it out to prove who was the strongest.

Carmin and her opponent were dueling in the center of the arena, between the two biomes.

Carmin blocked a tonfa jab from Team BRNE's leader, Brant Cetus. He was tall, with bronze skin and dark red hair. He wore a simple white shirt and black pants. His weapon was a pair of tonfas, which he was using to great effect to force Carmin on the defensive. Carmin swung her axe at his side, causing him to jump behind her to avoid it. She smirked, firing the shotgun to make the recoil slam the butt of Sistrum into his stomach. 

"Ouch! Carmin Rivers landed a painful blow on Brant Stevens!" Azura commentated, waving what was left of her right arm in a show of excitement.

"Painful, but not decisive." Azura's co-commentator (and a professor at Atlas Academy), Viola Flowers, remarked. "It should be a wakeup call for our Mister Cetus, however."

"Regardless, the tide's shifting to Carmin's favor." Azura said, before turning to face the camera directly. "Good morning, Remnant! Today's the first day of the Vytal Festival Tournament, and our second match is already proving to be a treat! For those of you just tuning in at home, the rules are as such: The first round is four on four, full team combat. Fighters are eliminated when their Aura drops below ten percent or they get knocked out of the arena. Once round one concludes, the winning team elects two of their members to move onto the doubles round, and once the victor is decided, the victorious team chooses who moves on to the singles rounds." 

"Any predictions to the outcome of this fight?" Viola asked.

"I don't feel like it'd be fair to make any claims about who's winning. That said, I'm Team CMIE all the way."

"They still have a hard fight ahead of them from Team BRNE." 

Back in the arena, Carmin kept swinging her axe wildly, viciously trying to tear Brant to pieces. Despite her seemingly mindless aggression, her strikes were far more calculated than ever before, forcing Brant to keep on his toes lest a single strike tear his Aura to shreds. He brought a tonfa down on the axe's handle, hooking it between his weapon and his arm. 

Carmin smirked at Brant's confidence, pulling the trigger on Sistrum. The shotgun went off, the recoil propelling her back. She dug the blade into the ground, flipping over to stand atop axe's handle. Brant tried to pursue, and Carmin merely rocked the axe so the barrel was aimed at the floor, and then fired again. She flew straight up into the air.

* * *

_"Hi Mom, hi Dad." Carmin said, standing in front of two graves. It was a few days before the Vytal Festival was to be held, and all the students were given a chance to go home and spend time with their families._

_In this case, spending time with her family meant visiting their graves. "I guess it's been a while, huh? I've been accepted into Haven Academy, so... there's that. I'm following in your footsteps. Just, with less dying." She let out a humorless laugh. "I've got a team now. Marigold's on it, and you'd love Iris and Viri. Those two are... very odd people. One's a Faunus from Atlas, and the other's a goofball with enough parental issues to make me look well-adjusted."_

_Another humorless laugh. "We've even come close to figuring out who killed you guys. We don't have any name, but we have a general body type and gender. Or... sex. She has tits, alright?"_

_She paused._

_"Nera'd probably chew me out for that one. Or not, she's nice about that kind of stuff anyway."_

_"Yo, Carmin!" Marigold called. "Me and Saffron are heading over to the arcade! Wanna come?"_

_"Gotta go." Carmin gave a small wave to the graves, and then walked away with a smile on her face._

* * *

Carmin smiled as she used gravity to give her axe smash some extra oomph as she brought it down upon Brant. He brought up his tonfas to block, only for Carmin to break through his guard and send him flying. He sail over Marigold and her opponent, who were fighting in the lava field.

Marigold's opponent was Ricotta Orion, a girl with fair skin, whitish yellow hair, and blue eyes. She wore a simple white and blue outfit with a short skirt. Ricotta's weapon was a greatsword that doubled as a machine gun, pairing both to overwhelm any foe that stands before her.

Mind you, it wasn't doing much overwhelming for Marigold. Marigold kept up with Ricotta's rhythm, bringing up her blade to block the slashes coming her way. It was a little annoying for the orange-haired girl, given her missing left eye. In its place was a metal eyepatch doohickey (as Viri had affectionately called it), which would function as a mount for her replacement eye once she got it.

Marigold parried an overhead slash, countering with a rising slash of her own blade to force Ricotta back. Ricotta pointed her sword at Marigold, unloading the machine gun at her. Marigold twirled her cane, spinning it to deflect every bullet that came her way as she slowly approached Ricotta.

* * *

_It was a few weeks after Crim took Azura's arm and Marigold's eye. Those two were standing out in the training hall, with Azura holding a greatsword._

_"So, why'd you call me here?" Marigold asked. Her missing eye was covered by a medical eyepatch._

_"I know you want revenge on Crim." Azura stated. "And I'd rather see you prepared when we inevitably find him again."_

_Marigold readied her cane._

_"I like your spirit." Azura said, getting into a proper stance with her sword. "If this thing touches you, you lose. Crim's Aura-negating Semblance means any hit is a likely deathblow, and it'll take you out of the fight regardless."_

_And so, the next several days were spent with Marigold training for the inevitable rematch between her and Crim._

* * *

And this girl, Ricotta? She was nothing. Marigold warped over a slash, reappearing on the blade. Ricotta didn't even have a moment to process it before Marigold slashed at her hand, knocking the sword away.

Before Marigold could go in for the finishing blow, Ricotta grabbed a Dust crystal off a nearby rock and threw it at her. Marigold reflexively sliced it in two, causing it to explode in her face.

While Marigold and Ricotta continued to battle, Iris and her opponent were battling on the desert sands.

Iris' opponent was Nickel Virgo. He had pale skin, grey hair, and similarly grey eyes (they lacked the shine Carmin's had, like pale imitations of something greater). He wore an honest-to-goodness suit of silver armor, wielding a metal club that doubled as a cannon.

Iris swiped at him with her Orthrus Mk2 (a gift Azura had given her to replace the worn-down old ones), going for any small chinks in the armor she could see. Orthrus Mk2 looked about the same as the original, with some modifications like buttons to fire the guns and a clamp system for combining. Each slash she made didn't do much, she simply wasn't tough enough to pierce the armor, but at least he couldn't even touch her either.

She ducked under a swing, jumping up to avoid another, and then kicked Nickel in the face. Iris followed up with a barrage of slashes, hoping sheer quantity would make up for her lack of strength.

* * *

In a small Atlesian flower shop, a purple-haired woman was watching the tournament through a small TV mounted on the wall. She was a fox Faunus, her trait being ears. One of them was a cybernetic replacement.

That purple-haired girl was really something. "Is she?" The woman wondered, before shaking her head. That girl doesn't have them.

* * *

Iris jumped over Nickel, spinning around to slash at his back. It bounced off his armor, much to her growing frustration. Nickel spun around, managing to hit Iris with his club. She lost one of her blades from the blow, which landed in the sand behind Nickel.

"Doesn't matter how fast you are." Nickel said, raising his club overhead for a finishing blow. "Ya can't break through my armor."

She merely lifted up one hand, the one that had her now missing blade. Her bracelet (a simple black one with a purple orb of gravity Dust) glowed as she gave it a small amount of Aura.

A chamber inside the blade she lost reacted with a matching glow, flying back to Iris. It hit Nickel hard in the back, cracking his armor. After that blow, it bounced off and returned to Iris' hand. She combined the two swords, flipping down the clamps to keep them together.

She rushed in, spinning her twinblade around to strike from a variety of odd angles.

Up atop the rock formations of the desert, Viri was having her fight.

Viri's opponent was Electra Scorpio, a pale girl with frizzy electric yellow hair and eyes. Electra was wearing goggles on her forehead and a labcoat over a black outfit with far too many zippers for her own good. Electra was wildly blasting a lightning gun at Viri, shooting arcs of electricity at the archer.

Viri flipped to the side, catching an arrow as it fell out of her quiver and nocking it, and then jumped up to avoid another shot. She twisted to narrowly dodge a third shot, and let the arrow loose. It hit Electra in the shoulder, taking a decent chunk of her Aura. 

Electra growled, pulling her goggles down over her eyes. A black cloud formed above the two, the power of her Semblance. She aimed her gun straight up, firing a lightning bolt into the storm. 

Viri instantly rolled once she realized what was happening, barely evading a bolt from above. She transformed her bow into its mace form, leaping at Electra.

The mad scientist sidestepped Viri's overhead slam, taking aim for a point-blank shot of lightning to Viri's side. Viri turned the mace onto its side, digging the saw into the rock. The handle spun, bringing Viri around for a kick. Electra was knocked off-balance by the blow, giving Viri the chance to pull her mace out of the ground and use the momentum for a brutal hit that sent Electra flying. 

Viri's strike knocked Electra into the center of the arena, where the rest of Team BRNE had ended up during their battles. She got ready to offer ranged support, shifting Overgrowth back into a bow. 

Carmin smiled, giving a small gesture to Viri to get ready. "Marigold! Iris! Flower Power!" she ordered, shifting Sistrum into a guitar. "Keep them away from me."

Marigold inserted some fire Dust into her cane, causing the blade to burst into flames. She warped ahead, swinging her blade at Brant. He brought up a tonfa to block, trying to counter with a jab from his other one. Iris rushed in, blocking the strike for Marigold and giving her teammate an opening for a slash.

Brant took the hit, feeling the burning blade eat a hefty chunk of his Aura in the process. "Ricotta! Nickel! You-" He got shot in the back by an arrow. Viri gave her team a peace sign, and then shot another arrow at Team BRNE, hitting Electra's lightning gun. "Electra! Get rid of her!"

Electra took aim, only for Marigold to wrap her whip around the gun and pull it away. "You're not touching her." Marigold stated. Nickel leapt at her, swinging his club at the orange-haired Huntress with the intent of crushing her. Marigold flipped back, swiping her sword at him. It bounced off his armor, much to her annoyance.

And then Viri shot Nickel in the back with an arrow tipped with fire Dust. It exploded, shattering his chestplate entirely. Iris moved in, separating her blades. Nickel swung his club, forcing her away, and then aimed the top of it at her. The top opened up, firing a cannonball at the Faunus in disguise.

Iris ducked, the cannonball grazing her ears. Marigold caught it with her whip, swinging it around right back into Nickel's face. Nickel was hit square in the face by his own cannonball, sending him flying out of bounds. 

"Oooh! Looks like that backfired for Mister Virgo down there!" Azura said. 

"The battle isn't over, Azura." Viola pointed out. "I think Electra's making her move right now."

Electra created a storm cloud above the arena's center, picking her lightning gun back up and aiming for the cloud.

Carmin smirked, firing a sonic blast to blow the cloud away. Electra growled, changing targets. And then Viri shot her weapon out of her hand with a wind Dust arrow. Carmin kept playing, unleashing constant wave of force that made it a struggle to stand in front of her.

Viri shot what was left of Team BRNE off-balance with several arrows, which let Carmin sent them flying out of the arena with one last blast of sound.

"And that's the fight!" Azura called. "Team CMIE will be moving on to the doubles round. Anything you'd like to say, Viola?"

"I'm a tad disappointed in Team BRNE's tactics during this bout." Viola stated. "I will speak with them about it at a later point."

* * *

Team CMIE headed out to the fairgrounds, feeling great after their win against Team BRNE. 

"Woohoo!" Viri cheered. "We're moving to doubles! We're moving to doubles! We're-"

"Yes, Viri, we get it." Carmin said. "First off, let's figure out what we're having for lunch, and then doubles."

"How about ramen?" Marigold suggested, gesturing to a nearby ramen stand. 

"As long as you're paying." Iris said.

Everyone else nodded in agreement, sitting down and ordering some ramen.

"So, who's going to doubles?" Marigold asked.

"I have to." Iris stated.

"For whatever your plan is, right?" Carmin asked.

"If I can make it to singles, the focus can be on me, and me alone. If my mom's really out there, free from the SDC, then she'll probably be watching the tournament." Iris explained. "I drop my disguise then and there, it's guaranteed she'll see me."

"That's... a questionable plan." Marigold said. "But... it's better than nothing I guess? You don't remember her name or face, so there's not exactly any other options."

"Alright. You can go to doubles." Carmin said. "I want you at the top of your game. And... Viri's your partner. You two work together better than me and Marigold would anyway."

"Marigold and I." Nera said, walking up to them with her team. "Mind if we join you?"

"I'm pretty sure both are accepted." Robin pointed out. "She got the point across."

"Oh, I know that. I just didn't know what to say so I just went with that. I'll pay for your meals."

Once everyone got their meals, Orcha decided to speak up.

"So, how've you guys been?" she asked. "Nice work on those guys from Atlas, by the way. You really let 'em have it!"

Viri shrugged. "We were kinda sloppy." she admitted. "I wanted to test out my new gravity Dust arrows, forgot about that, Flower Power really didn't pan out like it was s'posed to-" 

"Honestly? I just forgot what Flower Power actually was." Marigold said.

"And we didn't even beat 'em in a cool way." Viri finished. 

"And here I thought Carmin was gonna be the critical one." Robin remarked, before nudging Erin. "Looks like I owe you twenty Lien."

Erin smiled. "Bump it down ta fifteen. I said _both_ Viri and Iris were gonna be critical." she vaguely gestured to Iris, who was scarfing down her ramen. "And Iris doesn't seem ta be."

Iris looked up from her food. "We won." She plainly stated before returning to eating her ramen with gusto.

"That's the most important part, to be honest." Carmin said. "Winning's winning, regardless of how well we did it. We will have to have a talk about our team attacks when we get back to Haven, however."

"Going to have to whip them into shape, huh?" Midnight remarked, walking up with the rest of Team MIST. 

"Oh, hi Midnight." Marigold said, waving. "How've you guys been?"

"Well, we won our first round earlier." Midnight said, shrugging. "So, there is that."

"Wasn't that, like, the first fight of the whole tournament?" Orcha asked.

Saffron enthusiastically nodded. "Yep! And it was a slaughter. Between Midnight's speed, Ivy's skills, _my baby_ ," She lovingly caressed her weapon. "And Toro's strength, it was nothing!"

"It seems you four are working together quite nicely." Nera remarked. "Our match is up in an hour. It would be appreciated if you all could come see it."

Orcha groaned. "I think I'm gonna puke..."

"Hold it 'till we get to the fight." Robin said. "Then aim it at the enemy."

Nera brought a hand to her chin in thought. "I suppose that would be the best course of action. Still probably isn't much worse than Erin's breath."

"Hey!" Erin indignantly responded.

"I mean, she ain't wrong." Robin pointed out. "You should prolly brush your teeth more than never."

"You do adhere to the norm for actual komodo dragons." Orcha pointed out. "Which means stinky breath."

Erin growled in annoyance.


	24. Volume 3: SNBM - Round One

Sylvia sighed, standing in front of a pair of gravestones.

Silva Sparks and June Sparks, her birth parents.

"Hi mom, hi dad. It's kinda been a while, huh?" She let out a dry chuckle. "I... I'm training to be a Huntress now. At Beacon Academy, no less! We... didn't really get to know each other all that well, but I know you two would love my team. Nepheli's got energy that she puts to great work, Beryl's the strongest girl I know, and Mauva's got enough brains to back me up. I would've brought them over, but the gang insisted I go on my own. Felt it would be healthier for me."

Another sigh. "Yeah, so... it's nice to see you again."

"Hey, Sylvia!" Nepheli called, waving. She was a distance away, flanked by Beryl and Mauva. "We're heading out to that one restaurant you suggested we try! You're coming, right?"

Sylvia chuckled, turning around. "Well, gotta go. Don't be a stranger!" She waved to the gravestones, before running off to join her friends.

"'Don't be a stranger'?" Mauva questioned. "That's... certainly _something_ to say to a gravestone."

Sylvia shrugged.

* * *

Sylvia clashed with Dew Gayl of Team NDGO, her blade meeting Dew's spear. Dew unleashed a tornado that blasted Sylvia into the air, prompting the silverette to throw a lightning bolt down with her free hand. The two were battling in a desert area in the Amity Colosseum arena, with the other half being a geyser field. 

"Welcome back to the Vytal Festival!" Azura said, sitting in the announcer's seats alongside Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port. "I'm Azura Aqua, and these are my co-hosts, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck and Professor Peter Port!"

"Good morning, everyone." Port said. "For those just tuning in, the rules are as such: The first round is a four-on-four battle between teams."

"Age and school year are irrelevant." Oobleck added. "The only thing being tested..." He pushed up his glasses. "Is _skill_."

Sylvia hit the ground as her lightning bolt hit Dew, who blocked it with her spear and rushed at the silverette.

"Right you are, Doctor." Azura said. "The only thing that matters in this tournament is who can fight the best, and has the nerve to keep it up."

"Didn't you panic during the final round of your first Vytal Festival?" Port asked.

"Anyway, after the first four versus four, the winning teams will designate two of their own to move on to the doubles round." Azura said, changing the topic. "One of the winners of the doubles round moves on to the singles round, and they will engage each other in a series of one-on-one battles to determine who is the strongest."

"And Team NDGO is certainly a crowd favorite this year." Oobleck remarked. "And it's not hard to see why. Between their high marks in all subjects and strong teamwork, they've been called the finest Shade Academy has ever had."

"Although, Team SNBM isn't going to go down without a fight." Port said.

"Speculation aside, this tournament is shaping up to be one of the best Remant's ever seen." Azura said. Between that early showing of Team CMSN (Cinder's team, featuring Mercury, Emerald, and Neo in disguise), her personal experience with SNBM, and the stuff she's heard of the other students, it was inevitable that this tournament was going to be a thrill.

In the center the arena, Nepheli was duking it out with Octavia Ember. Her twin swords (nicknamed Hydra) met Octavia's dagger, the clash releasing an explosion of flame that damaged both of their Auras. Nepheli summoned her wings, swinging one in tandem with her sword.

Octavia barely blocked the first hit, only to get struck by the Faunus' wing and sent skidding back. She swung her dagger at Nepheli, releasing a blast of fire that the lizard girl narrowly flew over. Nepheli dropped out of the air, using gravity for a falling slash. Octavia sidestepped it, thrusting her dagger at Nepheli.

Nepheli's retort was to wrap her tail around Octavia's arm, spinning around and slamming the pommel of one of her swords into her back.

A firework whizzed past them, courtesy of Mauva; who was battling Nebula Violette in the geyser field. The two were fencing, each strike meeting the other's weapon with perfect accuracy. Mauva let loose with a stream of fire from her cane, forcing Nebula to jump back; converting her sword into its crossbow form to fire a few bolts at the bespectacled girl.

Mauva activated her Semblance, gaining a blue glow around her body. The bolts bounced off her, and she then changed the glow to a green one. She suddenly closed the distance between them, darting around a geyser as it erupted, and drove her cane into Nebula's gut.

Nebula switched back to her sword, digging it into the ground to arrest her momentum, and then blocked Mauva's second strike. Mauva changed her glow, shifting it to a red one. Her cane swing broke through Nebula's guard, forcing the purplette back. Without giving her opponent a moment's reprieve, Mauva shot a firework, blasting Nebula.

Elsewhere in the geyser field, it was Beryl taking on Gwen Darcy. Gwen was desperately trying to keep her distance from the tiny terror, who wasn't even bothering to use her weapon. Sure, it was strapped to her back and ready to be brought out at a moment's notice, but Beryl was using her fists for the time being.

Gwen threw three knives, jumping back. Beryl managed to dodge all three, lightly tapping them as they passed by her. Sticking to her plan, Gwen kept running. She ran over a geyser as Beryl pursued, the latter getting blasted by a jet of scalding water from the ground. Despite that, Beryl didn't even seem phased by it (even if her skin was a lot more reddish from the burns), continuing to chase after Gwen.

The older of the two was caught off-guard by this display, allowing Beryl the chance to punch her in the chest and send her flying. Once Gwen hit the ground, she saw what Beryl had done to her. A green glyph was bound to her chest, slowly spinning. The spin sped up as Beryl activated it, causing the knives Gwen had thrown earlier to be drawn towards the glyph.

Gwen barely managed to catch all three, clamping her hands down on all three of them in an attempt to stop Beryl's Semblance. It didn't work, the knives sliding out of Gwen's grip and hitting her in the chest. Her Aura took the damage, dropping down to about sixty percent.

Before Beryl and Gwen could continue their fight, Sylvia crashed between them; having been sent flying by one of Dew's attacks. 

"Sorry about that." Sylvia said, picking herself up. "Beryl, would you mind if I helped you out?"

'Not at all.' Beryl signed, before drawing Rhitta and slamming it down onto the stone below her feet. She was lightly blushing, not that you could tell with her slightly burnt skin.

Sylvia smirked. "Let's show them what we're made of."

Beryl was the first to move, leaping at Gwen for an overhead axe smash. Gwen narrowly sidestepped it, right as Sylvia blasted her with a lightning bolt. Beryl used the opening created by Gwen taking the shock to swing her axe and send Gwen flying. She crashed into the desert area, where Nepheli and Octavia's battle had ended up.

Gwen picked herself up, right as Nepheli dodged another one of Octavia's slashes; kicking her and then going after Gwen. The Vacuoan didn't have the chance to to defend herself as Nepheli struck with a hard slash that reduced Gwen's Aura level down to twenty percent, the threshold for elimination in this year's Vytal Festival Tournament. 

As Gwen walked off the stage, Octavia rushed at Nepheli. The Faunus manifested her wings, flying up and over her opponent's opening swing. She then landed on kick on Octavia's back which was shortly followed by a berserk attack rush with both of Nepheli's swords, her wings, her feet, and her tail.

Octavia barely managed to weather the assault, slashing the instant she had a chance and forcing Nepheli to jump back lest she get burnt. Nepheli simply rushed right back into the fray, clashing her blades against Octavia's. This was shortly followed by a green firework hitting Octavia and sending her flying out of the arena. 

Mauva gave Nepheli a thumbs up, before having to block Nebula's overhead slash with her cane. The bespectacled girl pushed Nebula back, flipping her cane around to fire the crook as a grappling hook. Nebula dodged it, closing the distance between them and going onto the offensive once more. Mauva blocked each strike, holding her cane in one hand while she used the other to pull on the cable connecting the crook to the rest of her weapon.

It caught Nebula's leg, and Mauva instantly shot a firework to use the recoil to give it a hard yank that flipped Nebula head over heels. In spite of that, Nebula managed to transform her weapon into its crossbow form and fire a bolt at Mauva. Who already had her Semblance in its speed mode in case Nebula was to try that, tilting her head to the side and dodging the shot. She then jumped up to Nebula, slamming her back down to the ground.

Mauva switched her Semblance to its defensive mode, landing on top of Nebula and pinning her down where she landed. Nebula realized what Mauva was planning a second too late, as the geyser she had landed on erupted.

"Nebula Violette has been eliminated!" She heard Azura call out, smirking. "That's make three members of Team NDGO down and none of Team SNBM's! Can Dew Gayl pull through, or will it spell the end of Team NDGO's Vytal Tournament?"

All four members of Team SNBM turned their attention to Dew.

It wasn't long before they sent her flying out of the ring with one tandem attack, winning the round.

* * *

After their victory, Team SNBM headed back down to the festival grounds to have some lunch and enjoy the rest of what the festival had to offer.

"I am _starving_." Mauva said. "Anyone else feel the same?"

Beryl's stomach growled, spooking some nearby civilians into thinking a Grimm was near before realizing it was just a little girl who was very hungry. 'I had skipped breakfast.' She signed.

"We all did." Sylvia said. "So, anyone else up for just eating at the first stall we find? That doesn't serve something Nepheli would make?"

"Hey!" Nepheli indignantly responded.

Before the Faunus could try to say something in her own defense, Mauva was the one to speak up.

"I will say that her deep-fried potato stuffed with lemons was surprisingly good." She said. "That said, your forte is definitely not cooking."

"I'm only going to let you off the hook for that because I love you." Nepheli grumbled.

"Speaking of you two, are you actually a couple or is that just me reading too far into your relationship?" Sylvia asked. 

"Eh..." Nepheli made a 'so-so' gesture with her hand, before shrugging. "I don't think we're really ready to take another step beyond just besties."

"I concur. While she is a beautiful and wonderful woman, I currently have my sights set on someone else." Mauva added. "I would not be opposed if she were to ask me out on a proper date, however."

"You know, you are allowed to come right out and say you're after Ruby." Sylvia pointed out, before noticing a ramen stand. "How about we have lunch over there?"

The team agreed, walking over and sitting down. "And yes, everybody that isn't Ruby is probably aware of my crush on her, but that doesn't mean I can't try to maintain at least a level of secrecy."

It was at that moment that Team RWBY sat down with them. "A level of secrecy of what?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, uh, your birthday present!" Mauva blurted out, before doing an incredibly fake and awkward laugh. "I know your birthday's coming up, and I'm just making sure none of them," She gestured to the rest of her team. "Don't spoil the surprise!" Another fake laugh.

"Neat!" Ruby just said, either not noticing or deliberately ignoring how weird Mauva was acting.

"So, are you four excited for your match?" Sylvia asked. "Against the other Vacuoan team?"

Weiss simply nodded. "I doubt they'll much trouble. After taking out Torchwick and his men, this is going to be a piece of cake."

"I hope so." Sylvia said. "The only ones to kick your butts are gonna be us."

Yang laughed. "As if. We'll be the ones kicking your butts."

Blake and Beryl both just looked to each other, clearly sympathizing with each other's exhaustion. 'I hope you do make it to the singles round. I'd like to test my strength against you.'

"Get in line." Mercury said, sitting down with them. Cinder and Emerald were with her.

"What, gonna fight her and then dip halfway through?" Sylvia said.

"Are you _still_ angry about that?" Cinder questioned, honestly baffled. She knew Sylvia was the type to hold a grudge (Cinder didn't, since she just killed anybody she would have a grudge on long beforehand), but this was obscene.

"Yes! I'm going to hold him for that until he dies."

"Seriously, Sylvia, you have got to let that go." Nepheli said. "Forcing a fight is never fun."

"So," Emerald interjected, trying to get the conversation steered towards what they were after in the first place. "Which of you guys are going to doubles?"

"Trying to get an edge of the competition, eh?" Sylvia joked, causing Emerald to shrink back. "Well, if you must know, it's me and Beryl. Not like it was a hard decision. We're the two strongest girls in all of Beacon."

It was at that moment that Team JNPR also joined them.

"Speaking of strongest girls in Beacon, I hope I'll be getting the chance to kick your butt too, Pyrrha." Sylvia added.

Pyrrha opened her mouth to respond, only for Jaune to end up beating her to the punch.

"I think we'll be doing the butt kicking, thank you very much." He said.

Beryl snorted. 'That assumes you're going to doubles.'

"Hey! We're more than good enough to beat whoever comes our way!" Jaune retorted.

"She means that you won't be going to the doubles round." Nepheli explained. "I'm gonna guess it's gonna be our Invincible Girl and Nora taking care of that."

"I mean, you don't even know what your Semblance is yet." Mauva added. "While I have few doubts on your Semblance's potency, Pyrrha and Nora's shared ability would eclipse anything you or Ren could provide, even if you discovered your Semblance during the next fight."

"Hey, you guys don't have to bully Jaune." Sylvia said. "He's got plenty of other great qualities. He's strong, a great leader, handsome, and an _amazing_ dancer."

Even for someone as socially oblivious as Sylvia, she still noticed the way Pyrrha had looked as she spoke. Not jealous, but hurt. Like she was kicking herself for not saying the things Sylvia was saying.

As for Jaune, his response was simple. "Oh, uh, thanks!"

Nepheli was about to make a joke, turning to where Team RWBY was sitting. They were gone. So was Cinder and her team, most likely having gone out to spectate Team RWBY's match.

Mauva ran off not long after, trying to make sure she saw Ruby fight in person.

Nepheli sighed. "Of course she would."


	25. Volume 3: CMIE - Family Reunion

"Welcome back to the Vytal Festival Tournament!" Azura said from the commentator's booth. "For the third match of the tournament, we have Team NERO of Haven Academy taking on Team YELO of Beacon Academy!"

"It's certainly going to be a treat to see this one, Azura." Viola said. "We've two teams who've only ever been at the top of their game from the moment they entered their respective schools."

Nera rolled her eyes down in the arena, mostly just waiting for the battle to start. Holograms lit up around the ring, showing them what the biomes were going to be for this match. Ruined city and a forest. Both great for Erin.

Erin simply smiled, waving to the crowd. 

Robin sized up the competition. Yale Toa was a fairly tall pale dude with blond hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a surfer getup. Eton Urie was shorter, with tanned skin and greenish blue hair, and wore some sort of rich dude from like a century ago type outfit with a fancy collar. Lisera Berry was a girl with purplish pink hair and matching eyes, wearing what appeared to be gym clothes. And Oliva Simmons had olive skin (go figure) and olive green hair with similar eyes, wearing a rather nice suit and tie. She was probably the only one in this crew actually concerned with appearances.

Orcha yawned. "Can we just fight?"

"Dude, you read my mind." Yale said.

"Begin!" Azura called.

Erin immediately turned around and ran into the city behind Team NERO, heading for a vantage point to use her rifle properly. Eton brought out his rapier, aiming it at her, only to be distracted by Orcha leaping into the fray with her blade extended. Lisera swung her glaive from behind Orcha, trying to blindside her, only for the Vacuoan to jump over the attack with a backflip, landing behind for a swipe of her own blade.

Nera engaged Yale, clashing a saber against his estoc. He pulled the trigger on the handle, letting a stream of flame loose and forcing Nera to get back, lest she suffer the consequences. She sighed, transforming Arsenal into a scythe. It felt like a smart choice, going for something big and nasty to counter such a simple but dangerous weapon.

Robin brought out his revolvers, rushing at Oliva with the blades. She blocked his opening slashes with her scimitar, kicking him in the stomach. Robin skidded back, before opening fire and shooting at Olivia to keep her at bay.

Orcha jumped up, dodging Eton and Lisera's joint assault, and kicked Eton in the face. She then leaned to the side to avoid Lisera's thrust, elbowing her in the stomach. Eton attempted to strike, only to get sniped by Erin. Orcha slashed Eton, her blade starting to gain a pink glow.

Erin continued to keep the pressure up, firing shot after shot into the fray with pinpoint accuracy. She trusted her training would make sure she wouldn't hit her teammates, and her teammates trusted her enough to keep the focus trained purely on their opponents.

Nera swung her scythe at Yale with vicious precision, every strike aimed to keep him off-balance and unable to make use of his weapon to its fullest. She spun around, going for a low slash. Yale jumped, expecting to use this as a chance to counterattack. Nera didn't give him the chance, using the scythe's momentum to flip around for a hard kick to the stomach.

As for Robin, he was starting to gain the advantage. He figured out how his opponent fought, and quickly adjusted his strategy to counter her. He fired a pair of shots in quick succession, aimed for two points she couldn't block at the same time. One made it through, which drained her Aura a bit, but primarily angered her.

Just as Robin wanted. He fired another pair of shots, one blocked and the other striking her in the side, and then parried her slash with one of his blades. He stuck out a leg, attempting to trip her up, only to miss as she leapt several feet into the air over him to dodge it. Robin's Semblance activated, causing her to crash to the ground hard. Robin himself moved to her, kicking her while she was down and sending her skidding across the ground.

Orcha continued her offensive, her blade's glow only growing brighter. She dodged Lisera's glaive, jumping over and slicing the shaft. Eton attempted to catch Orcha by surprise, only to receive a shot to the leg from Erin that tripped him up. Orcha smirked, sending him flying with a thrust that threw him out of the arena.

Lisera swung what was left of her weapon in attempt to club Orcha, only to hit nothing but air as Orcha sidestepped the attack and countered with a slash that sent Lisera flying out of the arena just like her partner.

Oliva barely picked herself up in time to dodge another kick from Robin. She attempted to lunge. Robin dodged, shooting her in the back and depleting her Aura ever further. She spun around to strike, only for Orcha to rush at her and land a slash that sent her flying out of the arena. 

"Woohoo!" Orcha cheered, flashing a peace sign to the crowd. "Three for three!"

Nera ducked under a swipe from Yale, transforming her weapon into a dagger as she stepped into his guard. She landed a quick thrust, before stepping around him just as Orcha came rushing in. 

Yale jumped back, dodging Orcha's first slash. Orcha spun from the momentum of her attack, unleashing all of her stored energy as a blast that sent him flying.

"And that puts an end to this match! Team NERO is the winner!" Azura called out.

Nera let our a sigh of relief, returning Arsernal to its hairpin form. She was a little worried going into this, but her team was better prepared that she thought.

And then she looked up at the sky, seeing a black airship soar overhead. She instantly recognized it. "Team, I'm going to have to go. I'll meet up with you all later." She stated, running off.

Nera passed by Carmin, who was planning on congratulating her. Carmin followed, wondering what had Nera so excited.

* * *

While Nera and Carmin were heading out, Marigold and Azura were having an outing of their own.

Getting their prosthetics now that they were finished.

"So, you know the person who's making our prosthetics?" Marigold asked, walking down the street leading to the lab.

"She's my sister, so I'd certainly hope so." Azura said.

"I didn't realize you had family up here."

"I'm actually from Atlas. I ended up heading to Haven when I was your age, since Atlas Academy was not going to be a pleasant experience for me. Even if I met Viola there, who is probably one of my few actual friends." Azura sighed. 

"Well, you got us. I'm your friend." Marigold assured, hugging Azura's intact arm.

"You're a good kid. Don't let anyone ever tell you any different."

They reached the lab, heading inside.

Marigold nearly got hit in the head by a flying wrench. She followed where the wrench came from, to see the woman who was making their prosthetics.

She looked fairly similar to Azura, albeit with dark blue hair in a bun. Marigold compared her hair to a sapphire, compared to Azura's much brighter blue that reminded her of the ocean. Azura's sister wore a labcoat over some casual clothes.

Right now, she was wrestling with a plain prosthetic arm that was flailing around and trying to grab anything that it got near. 

Azura sighed. "You never change, do you, Sapphira?" She said, walking over and pulling away the arm.

The woman, apparently named Sapphira, reached over at the arm and clicked an off button. It finally stopped moving, leaving them free to talk.

"Afternoon, Azura!" Sapphira said. "How's my darling little sister doing?"

Azura shrugged, before gesturing to her missing arm. "Well, besides the arm, I've been doing fine. Teaching's been going great, especially my students. Like, say, Marigold here. She's that girl I asked you to make the eye for."

Sapphira turned to Marigold, who just waved. "I'm Marigold, but you knew that already! You're Azura's older sister, right? I'm actually a big sister myself!"

"Marigold, Carmin's older than you." Azura pointed out.

Marigold sighed. "Well, can I at least see my new eye?" She asked. "It's kinda annoying to judge distances with just one of 'em."

"Oh, right! That was what you were here for!" Sapphira ran over to a desk, digging through a drawer.

"Is she always this scatterbrained?" Marigold whispered.

"Nah." Azura responded. "She's usually worse."

Marigold opened her mouth to speak, only for Sapphira to triumphantly raise something to the sky and shout, "Found it!"

Sapphira ran over to Marigold, handing over her prosthetic. It was a plain thing, with a rounded part that slotted into the mount on her head and a blue lens that would act as her eye. Truthfully, Marigold thought it was kind of ugly, but she felt the love that was put into its craftsmanship.

"Just slot that baby in and you'll be seeing again!" Sapphira said. "I would've added a bunch of nifty gadgets to it, but Azura specifically requested I don't."

"They barely work at best." Azura pointed out. "And I don't want you to be using one of my students as a testbed."

Marigold put her new eye into its socket while the two were talking, feeling it connect with her nerves and grant her binocular vision. She blinked the prosthetic a few times, taking a look around. "Wow..." She muttered. "It's weird..."

"Don't worry, you'll adjust to it in a few days." Sapphira said. "You can fiddle with the way it filters colors if you're still unsatisfied after a week, but you probably won't need to worry about it. I've got experience with this kinda thing, y'know?" 

The student didn't respond, grabbing a mirror off a nearby table and taking a look at herself.

"Now, Sapphira, can I see my arm?" Azura asked.

* * *

Nera and Carmin ran out in front of Atlas Academy, near where the airship ports were. Nera didn't bother to explain why she was rushing over, but Carmin was perfectly willing to follow. Not like there was any more fights for today, and the others were off doing something else.

They came to a stop in front of a customized black airship, featuring a symbol of a white sword and gun painted on the side. A woman stepped out, eyeing the small crowd that had formed. She had black hair tied into a ponytail, with a dyed in white streak, and dark blue eyes. She was wearing a black dress that went down to her knee, fairly formal but perfectly viable for a fight.

"Noire! I thought that was your ship." Nera said.

"Oh, Nera! How's it been?" Noire asked.

"I've been doing fine." Nera plainly answered. Carmin could tell that something was bothering her. "So, why've you bothered to head all the way up here?"

Noire just shrugged. "It's business stuff. I'm not really at liberty to disclose anything right now."

"Don't worry, I understand. Father rarely spoke of his work when we young, so I doubt you'd be allowed to either."

"That's more or less the situation." Noire stated, before looking to Carmin. "Who's she? Is she your girlfriend?"

Nera blushed. "N-no! This is Carmin Rivers-Melody. She's a friend I made a little while before I started my second year at Haven."

"You're Nera's sister, right?" Carmin asked. "It's nice to meet you."

Noire started walking away. "Let's continue our conversation while we walk!"

Carmin just stared at her. "She marches to the beat of her own drum, huh?"

"That's Noire for you." Nera said. "Doesn't really do well with people, but cutthroat when it's time to get serious."

They followed her out to the front of Atlas Academy, having a fairly lively conversation about Nera's school life as they walked to Noire's destination.

"I really should introduce you to my team. They've been nothing but amazing ever since we met, even with some minor speed bumps in our early days." Nera said, finishing her sentence right as Noire stopped.

"You. _How's it been_?" Noire asked, turning to the side. Her tone was incredibly saccharine, so fake it hurt.

Carmin and Nera turned to see Azura, standing there with a new arm. It was painted blue and had a black water droplet design decorating the back of her hand, but didn't seem to be anything special beyond that. She was also holding Tridangler.

Marigold was also there, who just sort of stood there next to Azura.

"I've been doing fine, Noire." Azura answered, obviously trying to sound cool in front of her students. It really didn't work all that well when she was shaking with anxiety.

"Hold up, do you two know each other?" Carmin asked. "Nera, did you know about this?"

"It's my first time hearing about this too. Noire, I'm going to assume you met Professor Aqua during your schooling at Haven?" Nera asked, turning to her sister.

Metal slithered out of Noire's clothes, morphing into a saber that she pointed at Azura. "Yeah, you could say that. How long has it been since we last had a match?"

"Please don't fight out in public." Nera requested.

"I agree. Let's go take it out to one of the training halls. There we can cut loose." Azura said.

* * *

They went down to a training hall, Azura and Noire staring each other down inside the arena. The students just sat on the sidelines, waiting for the battle to begin.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" Carmin asked. "I'm thinking it's Azura, but that's just me."

"My sister." Nera stated. "I've sparred with her, and she's on an entirely different level compared to me. And I helped beat Professor Aqua, so Noire's more likely to win."

"Azura. I don't really care about matchups or whatever, but she's my friend, so I'm rooting for her! Azura, you can beat her!" Marigold cheered.

Nera sighed. "Noire, don't you dare lose!" She shouted.

Noire smiled, aiming her weapon at Azura. "Last time, you won. Let's fix that, shall we?"

Azura adjusted her glasses, taking a breath to steel her nerves. "I think you'll find I've only improved since then, Princess."

"Oh ho! Looks like Little Wet Blanket finally found herself a spine." Noire said, transforming her weapon into a musket. It fired, shooting off a single ball in Azura's direction. Azura blocked it with the shaft of weapon, stepping towards Noire to get into close quarters.

Noire's weapon transformed into a saber, which she quickly brought up to block Azura's thrust. Azura wrenched her weapon around in an attempt to disarm her opponent. Noire let her weapon turn into liquid metal, causing Azura to almost fall off balance.

The liquid metal lashed out like a vicious tentacle, forcing Azura to retreat and go onto the defensive. Azura blocked the strike with her trident, skidding across the floor from the force.

Azura decided to start playing for keeps, firing the head of Tridangler at Noire. The liquid metal morphed into a tower shield, blocking the flying weapon as Azura rushed in. The blue-haired woman flipped her weapon over, stepping around the shield and thrusting the spiked rear end of her trident at her opponent.

Noire dodged the thrust, reaching to grab Azura's weapon and pull it away. Azura jumped, flipping over Noire and attempting to wrap the cable that connected the trident's head to the rest of the weapon around her. Noire ordered the liquid metal to lash at Azura.

Azura managed to get the cable around Noire before then, rotating to use Noire as a human shield. The dark-haired woman didn't have enough time to stop her own attack, getting struck in the stomach for her troubles.

"Okay, that is it." Noire hissed. The metal darted at Azura like a viper, forcing her to get back and release Noire in the process. "I'm through with going easy on you."

Azura retracted her trident's head, returning it to its rightful position, before aiming it at Noire. "Well, I should probably stress test the new arm. Let's see what you've really got."

Noire's metal transformed into a saber, which she simply took a fighting stance with.

There was a tense silence.

And then, like lightning, the two moved. They rushed at each other, closing the distance in a moment, and clashed. An explosion of sparks burst from the point of impact of their first strikes meeting each other, which was only followed by more blows causing the same. A barrage of thrusts were only met by a flurry of slashes, neither finding any progress in breaking through the other's defense.

Azura pressed the attack, swinging her trident instead of thrusting this time. It was a slower move, but a necessary one. The strike managed to break through Noire's saber, snapping the blade and leaving Noire seemingly defenseless.

Of course, both combatants knew that wasn't the case. Azura instead chose to dig the butt of her weapon into the ground, using it as a pole vault to get her into the air for a falling overhead strike. Noire created a shield to block it, only to be surprised when the blow pierced through her defense.

Before Azura could even react, Noire struck back by smashing all of the liquid metal into her gut without bothering to form it into anything. 

They glared at each other, trying to piece together a battle strategy.

And then Noire's Scroll went off.

Noire sighed. "Let's call it a draw." She said, withdrawing her weapon. The liquid metal hid in her clothing, protecting her without even needing a thought. "This isn't over."

"Let's have a rematch some time soon!" Azura said, waving as Noire walked out.

"Go screw yourself!" Noire shouted from the door as she walked out.

"You too!" Azura shouted back. She let out a sigh, calming her nerves. That was more stressful than she expected. At least her prosthetic was holding up really well. She turned to this students, who all had an obvious look of disappointment on their faces. "Kids, not every fight has to end in a decisive victory. Retreating is an option."

"Did you seriously just try to segue into a life lesson?" Carmin questioned.

"Oh, I didn't-"

"I'm joking." Carmin stated. "You don't have to apologize for trying to do your job."

Azura sighed.

Why did she have a bad feeling about the kids' future?

* * *

Sitting in a room in an old mining complex far from Atlas, Dian was bored.

She loudly groaned, much to annoyance of her 'partner' sitting across from her; working on something with the computer.

"Could you please be quiet?" Crim asked. "I am trying to get the rest of the power back on. Something I can't do with you being so noisy."

"But I'm _booooored_!" Dian whined. "Little Miss Murderer won't let me leave, so I can't have any fun, and you won't even bother to talk to me."

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

Crim didn't like Dian, but she was at least useful to have around for the time being. So, he'll humor her for now.

"What do you want?" Dian asked. "I'm content just killing those weaker than me, but I haven't been able to get a bead on what you want."

Crim sighed. "I suppose I can tell you. I want to create a new world. A world where the strong are at the top, instead of those fools who currently rule our world."

There was a silence. "And?"

"And what?" Crim said, tilting his head a little.

"How do you plan to accomplish this?" Dian questioned. "I like your idea, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd like to see, but how do you intend to make it happen?"

Crim was silent for far too long.

"You don't have a plan at all." Dian realized, staring at him. "I'm disappointed, Crim."

"She promised me that she would use her abilities to grant me my desired world." Crim said, sounding almost defeated.

"Well, you shouldn't just not think of a plan. I'll help you out, but you should figure out how you want to accomplish your desires." Dian said.

Crim took a few moments before responding. "Thank you. I will be needing some time alone to think. Can you please exit the room for now while I finish up?"

Dian stood. "You got it, Crimmy."

She supposed that having a replacement for her husband would be nice. And Crim was definitely worthy of her grace.

All that was left was to see where this road took her.


	26. Volume 3: SNBM - Brawl in the Family

A man with black hair and red eyes finished off his drink, watching the Vytal Festival. Team JNPR had just beaten their opponents in their first round.

"Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?" The bartender said.

"Eh." The man shrugged. "I'm just waitin' for the real fight."

He noticed an airship fly by, and smirked.

"That one." He said, answering the bartender's unspoken question. He downed his glass, slamming it on the counter and then walking out.

* * *

Mauva bowed, standing before Weiss' sister Winter. Weiss, Ruby, and Mauva were all standing out near Beacon Academy, where Winter's airship had landed.

"So, are these your friends?" Winter asked, scrutinizing her and Ruby.

"Well, more of an acquaintance in my case." Mauva stated. "I met her through Ruby, and we... just leave each other be. I will leave you two be, unless you would prefer my presence."

Winter paused in thought. "You may stay."

The conversation was pretty simple, and they ended up leaving Winter to do her business.

And then Winter ended up getting into a fight with some scruffy-looking guy.

His broadsword met Winter's saber, sparks flying. Winter pushed back, forcing the unkempt man onto the defensive. Blade met blade multiple times, the two combatants moving like lightning.

Weiss, Ruby, and Mauva pushed their way through the crowd to see what was going on.

"Who the hell is that?" Weiss questioned.

Ruby gasped. "That's my uncle! Go get her, Uncle Qrow!" She cheered.

Weiss glared at Ruby for a moment, before turning her attention to the battle. "Don't you dare lose, Winter!"

Winter parried one of the unkempt man's strikes, knocking him off-balance. She prepared to follow up with a thrust that would be a critical blow.

Instead of meeting the man's Aura and dealing heavy damage, it instead met the shaft of a trident. Azura had swooped in and blocked the strike, pushing Winter away from Qrow.

Azura gave Qrow a look, and then both nodded. They both rushed at Winter, forcing her onto the defensive. This battle had gone from a simple swordfight to a brawl in moments, which meant that Winter no longer had any reason to hold back her Semblance. A white glyph appeared on the ground, giving her a boost of speed to step back and evade an overhead slam from Qrow that shattered the brick path they were standing on.

The first one to close the distance was Azura, clashing weapons with Winter. Winter created a series of glyphs in the air, summoning a flock of small Nevermores; mere copies of the terrifying avian Grimm. Azura channeled water from a nearby pool, shooting down the Nevermores with perfectly aimed 'bullets' of water.

Qrow had more than enough to close the distance, flanking Winter and swinging his broadsword with reckless abandon. At least, that's what it seemed to an outside observer. Azura and Qrow's tandem assault forced Winter to separate her weapon, bringing out an estoc to supplement her saber in this battle.

Winter managed to force both Qrow and Azura back, using her glyphs to rush at Qrow. Saber met broadsword met, a shower of sparks erupting from the point of contact. Winter diverted Qrow's weapon into the ground, thrusting with her estoc. Qrow tilted his head, the blade grazing his cheek, and then suddenly let go of his weapon.

Winter did not see the fist coming until it was far too late. As you could expect, she was seething. She retreated, preparing for one final attack to end the battle. A glyph appeared behind her, gathering energy for her to finish this.

Azura gathered up water from the pool into a gigantic spear shape, taking aim to stop Winter.

Qrow grabbed his weapon, preparing to use its full power. Its gears began to turn, the broadsword starting to change shape. And then he smirked, returning it to its sheathed form. This fight was over.

Winter lunged.

" _ **SCHNEE**_!"

And then she stopped, just scant inches from stabbing Qrow through the neck. Winter sheathed her blade, turning around to face her superior.

General Ironwood stood behind her. Penny was also there, standing at his side. Ruby waved to Penny, and Penny waved back.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" Ironwood questioned.

"He started the altercation, sir!" Winter stated.

"That's wrong. She attacked me first." Qrow said.

"I can confirm Qrow's story." Azura added. "Qrow, despite throwing out some antagonistic words, did not even draw his weapon until Winter struck. I had intervened to protect my friend and to minimize collateral damage."

Ironwood glanced to what the battle had done to the courtyard, but didn't outright say anything about it. "Qrow, what are you doing here?" He instead asked.

"Could say the same to you." Qrow retorted.

Azura gripped her trident, getting ready in case this turned into another fight.

"Now now, everyone."

Azura relaxed as Ozpin and Glynda walked in, calming the tension in the air. Glynda used her Semblance to quickly repair the damages, leaving the courtyard good as new.

"A sanctioned fight will be happening in the Colosseum in fifteen minutes. The seats are much better," Ozpin took a sip of his cocoa. "And there is popcorn."

Ironwood and Winter walked off to take care of business.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Azura said. "I was a little worried that was going to escalate into _another_ fight."

"You're welcome, Miss Aqua." Ozpin stated. "Although, do try to intervene earlier."

"I'll try. I didn't realize Qrow and Winter were going to go all-out so quickly."

Ozpin nodded.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Qrow were having their reunion.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered, clinging onto her uncle's arm. "Did ya miss me?"

Qrow smirked. "Nope." He said, patting her on the head.

Mauva walked over to Azura. "So, you know that man, Professor?"

"Old drinking buddy, back before I quit." Azura explained. "And one of the strongest Huntsmen I've ever met."

Mauva adjusted her glasses, choosing to approach Qrow next. "Hello, sir. I understand you are Ruby's uncle?"

Qrow just stared at her. "You know this girl?" He whispered to Ruby.

Ruby let go of Qrow's arm, landing on the ground and gesturing to Mauva. "She's one of my friends I made here. Uncle Qrow, meet Mauva. Mauva, meet my uncle, Qrow!"

Mauva bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Qrow ended up saying after a pause. This kid was incredibly formal. Like Winter if Winter wasn't a stuckup-

"Qrow, may we have a word with you?" Glynda asked.

"See you later, kids." Qrow said with a wave, walking off to speak with Ozpin and the rest.

* * *

The following day, during the second set of matches for the first round of the Vytal Festival Tournament, Pyrrha was called to Ozpin's office.

She came face to face with not just her Headmaster, but with General Ironwood, Nera Asche, and some scruffy man she didn't recognize.

"Headmaster, why did you call me here?" Pyrrha asked.

"What is your favorite fairy tale?" Ozpin asked in turn.

Pyrrha was quiet for a few moments, surprised by the question. "Well, there's a few I could think of. The Tale of the Two Brothers, The Girl in the Tower..."

Ozpin leaned forward. "What about The Story of the Seasons?"

Pyrrha recited what she remembered of The Story of the Seasons. In short, it was a tale of a wizard who granted magical powers to quartet of young girls who had cared for him, each representing the seasons of the year.

"Now what if I told you it were _real_?" Ozpin then asked.

"I... I beg your pardon?" Pyrrha responded. She understood what he was saying, but her brain didn't want to believe it. It went against rational thought.

"What if I told you that such Maidens existed in our world, able to wield such incredible powers without Dust?"

Pyrrha paused. "Like a Semblance?"

Ozpin smiled. "Like _Magic_."

The room was silent for a few moments.

"I know it's absolutely insane to hear, but it's the truth." Nera stated.

"You're serious?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Do I seem like I'm joking?" Ozpin's expression was completely serious. Not an ounce of humor could be detected on his face. If this was a prank, he was a damn good liar.

"Then... why are you telling me this?"

"We are telling you this, because we believe you are the next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers." Ozpin explained.

Pyrrha was silent, taking in that information.

"We're still the same teachers and people you know." Nera said, trying to comfort Pyrrha at least a little. Brothers know she would have had the same reaction as the redheaded girl before her back when she was younger.

"'Cept we have a little part time job." Qrow added.

"We are the protectors of this world." Ironwood stated.

"And we need your help." Ozpin concluded.

Pyrrha didn't say anything, processing everything she's been hearing.

* * *

They brought her down underneath the school, down a long, dimly lit hallway.

As they walked, they explained what the Maidens could do and how they worked.

When it came to the transference of power, however...

"It's a complicated set of rules that aren't entirely clear to us either." Nera said.

"At first, we merely believed that only young women were selected." Ozpin explained. "Then we discovered the process was more... intimate, than that."

"Short version, it goes to whoever was in the Maiden's last thoughts before she died." Qrow said.

"Unless, of course, the person in question is male or too old. And the neither the age cutoff point or what it requires to be considered 'female' are entirely clear." Nera added. "Which is why I can't be selected, despite having a Semblance that would fast-track the training of the powers. I'm older than any Maiden before they got their powers, and I was... well, it doesn't matter. You are more than qualified for the role, the most qualified in Beacon."

"Are you saying...?" Pyrrha started to ask, trailing off as she realized the answer was obvious.

"Yes. We had looked through every student in Beacon." Ironwood said. "While some had Semblances that might make adjusting to the newfound powers more simple," Pyrrha thought of Sylvia and Weiss, two girls with almost magical Semblances. "And others had skills and strength beyond what the Maiden's power would grant them," That made Pyrrha think of Beryl, Nora, and Yang. "You were the only one who we felt was safe with wielding such extraordinary powers."

In other words, that meant that the rest were too likely to hurt somebody else with those powers, whether on accident or on purpose. Pyrrha... couldn't find herself disagreeing with that sentiment. Which only made her feel worse about this entire situation.

And then she saw what remained of the Fall Maiden. Strapped up in a strange pod with an awful burn scar that covered the left half of her face. The woman wasn't much older than Pyrrha either.

"This is what remains of the current Fall Maiden, Amber." Ozpin said. "Not dead, but not truly alive either. Half of her power was stolen by her attacker."

After a conversation that raised more questions than answers for Pyrrha, they let her go so she could decide if she wanted to go through with this.

* * *

While she was out, just walking around in an attempt to clear her head and calm herself down, she ran into a certain classmate of hers.

"Pyrrha! Just the person I've been looking for." Sylvia said. "I need to talk to you."

Pyrrha faked a smile. She really didn't want to talk to anyone right now, but Sylvia was inadvertently playing on her kindness. "Sure thing, Sylvia." She ended up saying.

"Thank you." Sylvia gestured to a bench, urging Pyrrha to sit. Once they both did so, Sylvia continued. "So, I noticed that you have a crush on Jaune."

Well, for everything, it definitely help distract Pyrrha from the Maidens. It didn't actually help her calm down, which Sylvia partially picked up on.

"Like I thought. You do have a crush on him." Sylvia said. "Well... I do too."

Pyrrha wasn't surprised.

"So... are you going to ask him out any time soon?" Sylvia asked. "Because if you're not, I will."

"Sylvia-"

"But, since I know he's your partner and you basically have dibs on him, I'll give you until a week after the tournament ends to confess to him. Unless he decides to make a move on somebody first, but that's not happening." Sylvia said, standing up. "Anyway, I'll be seeing you later! Tell me when you've told him so I don't accidentally ask him out anyway!" She added, running off.

Pyrrha just sat there, trying to calm herself down and think. Why did Sylvia have to confront her about this now, of all times?


	27. Volume 3: CMIE - Doubles

Iris and Viri stood in the Amity Colossuem, the second round of the tourament in full swing. It was the Doubles Round, a two on two this time.

"Hey, Iris, once this round is over, there's something I want to tell you." Viri said.

"Can't you just tell me now?" Iris questioned, keeping her focus on her opponents.

The enemy was Sumire Sakura and Yami Shirogane, members of Team SVRY (Savory) from Haven Academy. Iris was pretty sure she's seen them once or twice before.

Sumire was a violet-haired girl, wearing a flowery kimono and wielding a naginata.

Yami was an actual ninja, dressed in all black. Only his eyes and a little bit of platinum white hair could be seen beneath his mask. He wielded two blades, one long and one short.

"That'd be boring." Viri said. "And besides, now you've got somethin' to fight for that isn't just seeing your mom again."

"I think wanting to see my mom is plenty of reason to fight on its own. All you've done is mildly annoy me." Iris pointed out, as the arena's biomes were decided. Desert, lava field, savannah, and a cave.

"Are you two lovebirds done?" Yami asked, pointing one of his blades at Iris.

Iris sighed, getting ready for battle. "Yeah, we're done."

The battle began a few moments later. Yami dashed forward like a shadow, lunging at Iris. Iris brought up her blades, blocking the opening slashes, and then pushed him back. Yami was physically stronger than her by a fair margin, and at least on par with her in speed. She was going to need to play this smart to win.

Sumire flipped her weapon around, aiming the butt of the weapon at Viri. A blast of buckshot came flying out at Viri, forcing her to get moving. Viri nocked an arrow into her bow, sprinting into the savannah biome to obfuscate her position. Sumire pursued, swinging her naginata at where she thought Viri was.

Viri leapt out of the grass before the blade could ever touch her, flipping over Sumire's head and shooting an arrow at her back. Sumire spun her weapon, slicing the arrow out of the air.

She realized an instant too late that the arrow was tipped with Fire Dust. It exploded in Sumire's face.

Iris blocked two strikes, attempting to counterattack with a quick swipe from one of her swords. Yami seemingly transformed into a shadow, phasing through Iris' strike and moving behind her. The Faunus barely managed to spin around and block the strike, getting knocked off-balance for it.

Viri noticed what was happening out of the corner of her eye, firing an arrow at Yami and forcing him to dodge it. Iris used the window of opportunity to retreat, combining her blades into their twinblade form as she ran for the cave. Yami pursued Iris, hoping to end this and get back to his partner.

Sumire continued her offensive on Viri, doggedly pursuing the archer with everything she had. Viri had made her way into the lava field, jumping from rock to rock as she got ready to take her next shot. An arrow tipped with Ice Dust was the one she chose, as she sprung up into the air and dodged a jet of lava exploding from the ground near her. Viri activated her Semblance in the air, using it to get a perfect bead on her target in these conditions.

She let loose, allowing the arrow take the ideal path to her target. It hit the ground just ahead of Sumire, covering it in a sheet of ice. Viri grabbed another arrow from her quiver as Sumire dug her weapon into the ground to stop herself before she could hit a lava geyser in front of her.

The next arrow was fired, tipped with Gravity Dust, striking the ground just behind the lava geyser. It released a gravitational pull, attempting to drag Sumire into the geyser. Sumire dug her heels into the ground, keeping herself in place. Viri shot another arrow, this one tipped with Earth Dust, which hit Sumire while she was distracted.

A hunk of stone materialized on contact, vaguely wrapped around Sumire's body and weighing her down. Viri closed the distance, morphing Overgrowth into its mace form and smashing it into Sumire's chest.

Sumire was sent flying by the blow, but managed to land on her feet. "That's it. No more games."

Yami blocked a slash from the shadows of the cavern. For all of the shadowiness of his Semblance, he was still human. And in the darkness of a cave, against a Faunus with night vision, this meant that he was at a severe disadvantage.

Iris grabbed a rock off the ground, throwing it at the far wall. Yami instinctively turned toward the sound, only to be struck in the back by Iris' blade. She jumped back, blocking his attempted counter. Sparks lit up as the weapons clashed, giving Yami the faintest glimpse of his attacker.

"Sumire...?" Yami questioned.

Iris smiled. While her Semblance was mostly useless in combat (especially against the Grimm), it did have the occasional application for fighting. "Is... is that you?" She said, doing her best impression of Sumire. It wasn't very good, but Yami seemed to buy it.

"What happened? Why are you in here?"

"I was forced in here by that archer girl." Iris lied, taking a step closer. Only one strike would be necessary if she got this right.

And then an alarm went off, signalling that someone had been eliminated.

"Sumire Sakura has been defeated by ring-out!" Azura called.

Iris lunged in that instant, landing one slash across Yami's chest.

"And Yami Shirogane has followed suit." Viola commented. "That means Team SNBM is the winner."

At least Iris didn't have to worry about moving on to the final round any more. All that was left was to expose herself on international television. In the most unfriendly place a Faunus can be.

And she still has to find out what Viri wanted to tell her.

* * *

Nera and Noire sat down at a cafe, finally getting the chance to actually talk with each other without any interruptions.

"So... how has your schooling been going?" Noire asked. "You spoke a little about it, but I'd like to hear more."

Nera sighed. "It's... been going." She answered. "I'm doing fairly well in most of the non-physical classes, but..."

"You aren't cutting it in actually fighting." Noire surmised. "How is the rest of your team doing? What do they think of you?"

"Besides Orcha and I having a very heated rivalry with each other for about three months at the start of our schooling together? They seem to love me." Nera said.

"Well, there you go. You're doing fine. I was the weakest member of my team back when I was at Haven."

"Wait, you were the weakest member of your team?" Nera questioned.

Noire nodded. "By far. But I was smart enough to figure out how to support them even without strength."

"How did you do it, out of curiosity?"

"Money and making things."

Nera sighed. "Of course it is."

* * *

Nera blocked a thrown knife, courtesy of her opponent; Steelo Metul. Steelo was a man wearing armor that completely covered his features. The man threw more knives, forcing Nera onto the defensive as kept Arsenal in the form of a shield. She jumped over a rock in the forest section of the arena, moving for the ruined city.

As for Orcha, she was battling in the center of the arena against Titaniam Metul, a girl who was clad in armor just like her brother. Titaniam wielded a pair of tower shields, which also had built-in machine guns and flamethrowers. Orcha went at her opponent with all of her usual vigor, blade clanking off the shields and building power for her Semblance.

Titaniam unleashed a burst of flame, forcing Orcha to retreat. The fire managed to singe her anyway, damaging her Aura and reverting the charge of her Semblance back to zero. 

Nera hid in a building, taking a moment to catch her breath. This was not going well.

Her thoughts ended up drifting back to how her team first started, about a year and half ago.

* * *

_Back then, Nera was barely used to interacting with strangers, or just people in general. She was always sheltered, and after coming out her family only tried to keep her further from the outside world._

_But she was an Asche regardless. And an Asche always pushes forward and does what their heart desires. So she decided to go to Haven Academy to become a Huntress and save people._

_Her assigned team was... chaotic._

_Especially given that Orcha pointed her sword at her within the first five seconds after they met. The blade was right up against Nera's neck, only failing to draw blood thanks to her Aura._

_"Did I walk into the wrong room?" Nera questioned, pulling out her Scroll to confirm. It was the right room. "Could you please put that away?"_

_"Sorry. I thought you were an intruder." Orcha didn't retract the blade._

_"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Nera asked._

_The other two members of the team arrived. "Orcha, what are you doing?" Erin questioned._

_"Intruder." Orcha bluntly answered._

_"Please put that away." Erin said. Orcha relented, retracting Hidden Thorn and stepping away from Nera. "I'm sorry for my sister. We grew up in Vacuo, so we both ended up gettin' a bit of a hair-trigger temper when it comes to people we think might be bad."_

_"But I haven't done anything." Nera pointed out._

_"Once again, hair-trigger." Erin said._

_Nera sighed. "So, I guess we need to decide who the leader is."_

_"I say we fight for it!" Orcha declared._

_"That is barbaric." Nera stated. "Does anyone else have a better idea?"_

_"How about we put it to a vote?" Erin suggested. "You're not allowed to vote for yourself, however."_

_"That sounds perfect."_

_"Sure." Orcha said, clearly annoyed._

_The votes were cast, leading a rather surprising result._

_"One vote for Orcha," Erin said. "One vote for me, and two votes for Nera."_

_Everyone turned to Robin, who had been silent up to that point. "I voted for Nera. Not sure who else did though."_

_Nera guessed it was Orcha who voted for her, in some strange attempt at making things fair. Orcha never admitted it, though._

* * *

Nera smiled, right as a blade stuck through the wall she was hiding behind. They really were a gaggle of idiots back then, weren't they?

She got up, starting to move. "Orcha!" She called out, jumping out of her hiding place and sprinting to the center of the arena. "Switch targets!"

Orcha stepped back from her opponent, giving a salute, and then dashed for Steelo. She struck a knife as it flew at her, closing the distance and landing her first blow on Steelo.

Titaniam turned her attention to Nera, only to be surprised when Nera turned Arsenal into a tower shield of her own and rammed her with it. Needless to say, this knocked Titaniam off-balance and prevented her from coming to Steelo's aid.

Nera knew Orcha could handle it. Orcha was their best fighter by far (Nera could only win in sparring matches because Orcha wasn't going all-out), and she was now in an equal match-up. All she had to do now was keep Titaniam from interfering.

Arsenal transformed into a halberd, allowing Nera to keep her distance while being able to keep the pressure on. Nera felt her mind just understand how to wield such a weapon, and she swung it for Titaniam's shield. The weapon clanked off, and Titaniam unleashed a burst of fire in an attempt to drive Nera away.

Like lightning, Orcha pursued her opponent. Steelo threw knives in an attempt to cover his retreat, only for Orcha to simply slash them out of the air and build more charge for her Semblance. She didn't care about what was in her way, slicing through it all instead of going around it, building power and keeping up with Steelo.

Steelo jumped over a solid stone wall, expecting to be given a moment's respite. Orcha sliced through the wall like a hot knife through butter, her blade glowing a bright pink.

Orcha closed the distance between them before he could grab another knife, landing one slash that sent his Aura spiraling down past the threshold for defeat. Not wasting a moment, Orcha rushed to the center of the arena and went for Titaniam.

Titaniam brought up her shields, preparing to block the coming strike. Nera moved, circling around and striking Titaniam in the back with a sword to knock her off-balance. Orcha retracted her blade, instead driving her fist into her target's stomach.

Orcha smiled, before suddenly extending the blade and sending her opponent flying out of the arena.

"Thank you." Nera said, bowing. "I'm not sure what I'd do without you."

"I got your back, leader." Orcha said with a smirk.

* * *

Iris and Viri sat down at an outdoor cafe that night. Viri was frustratingly vague throughout the day and would not so much as hint at what she wanted to tell Iris, much to the Faunus' annoyance.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Iris asked.

"Before I tell you, I'm gonna ask you a question." Viri said. "Do you know what an iris symbolizes?"

Iris just shook her head. "I just chose my name because it sounded cool."

"Well, they can symbolize a lot of things, but the meaning I'm referring to is 'Good news'." Viri explained. "Which is what you are, at least to me. I didn't have any friends before I came to Haven. You, Carmin, and Marigold were the first friends I ever made."

Iris was silent. She just wasn't sure where Viri was going with this.

"And... well, I like you. And I want to be more than friends with you. Or at least give that a shot." Viri said. "Unless you'd rather..."

Iris stood up.

"Or you can just forget this conversation ever happened if you want to just be-"

Before Viri could finish that thought, Iris hugged her.

"I'd love to give it a shot." Iris said, smiling. "Partner."

Viri embraced her in return.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and kudos! It gives me the energy to keep writing for you all.
> 
> Also, I have a Tumblr at https://dontsaltme69.tumblr.com/


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